Jonjo Shelvey's Swansea omission 'purely selection,' says Alan Curtis

Swansea City interim manager Alan Curtis says his exclusion of Jonjo Shelvey from Saturday's matchday squad at Manchester United was "purely selection."

The midfielder was declared fit in the buildup to the unfortunate 2-1 loss, but was instead left in south Wales to train with peripheral members of the squad.

"It was purely selection," Curtis told Chris Wathan of Wales Online. "He played last Monday (at Crystal Palace) and for his standards he was a little bit disappointing. It was a pure choice and I do hope he's part of things going forward."

With Shelvey falling out of favour with Swansea, rumours of a January move have inevitably surfaced. Newcastle United and Crystal Palace are among those allegedly sniffing around, according to Wathan.

Curtis would not be drawn into any transfer talk on Shelvey, though.

"We had a good talk about (the selection) beforehand and he trained with the rest of the lads that stayed behind. Despite leaving him behind we do need him because he has terrific ability and he will play a huge part in a big end of season for us."

Swansea City returns to action when it makes the trip to Oxford in next weekend's FA Cup third-round matches.