When Manchester United signed Luke Shaw for £30m back in 2014 from Southampton they thought they’d signed an ideal replacement for Patrice Evra and that Shaw would be their left-back for the next fifteen years or so.

But unfortunately for Shaw injuries would seriously hamper his time at Man United. He has also struggled to convince United managers Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho that he was worth a place in their team.

Van Gaal questioned his lifestyle and his weight. Shaw would finally come good under the Dutchman but then suffered from a horrific break to his leg in a Champions League tie against PSV. That left him back at square one.

It was expected that once back in first team training, Shaw would regain his place under new man Mourinho this term but alas it hasn’t worked out that way.

The full-back has managed just 692 minutes of Premier League action this season, he’s only started in nine league games. Once again niggling injuries have played a part in stalling his career but he’s also received harsh criticism from boss Jose.

The Portuguese coach has stated the Shaw needs to learn to play through the pain, to start thinking for himself and show more ambition and focus:

“I cannot compare the way he trains, the way he commits, the focus, the ambition. I cannot compare. He is a long way behind.”

Jose Mourinho’s stinging attacks and his own underwhelming performances have left Luke Shaw looking like a player playing with zero confidence.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to see a way back for the England international under Jose’s regime.

In an ironic twist, Shaw’s old side Southampton currently have one of the Premier League’s top performing left-backs in Ryan Bertrand.

Bertrand is well ahead of Shaw in Gareth Southgate’s thoughts when it comes to a place in England’s first eleven. His top-end performances for the Saints haven’t gone unnoticed with Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool all linked with bids when the transfer window reopens.

But maybe Mourinho should take a serious look at Bertrand, if he’s looking for a new left-back for next season.

The twenty-seven year old has been impressive this term with his consistently high performances.

Defensively Ryan makes a credible average of 1.3 tackles per game and around 1.6 interceptions. Going forward he’s helped his team’s cause with two league goals and four assists.

The defender gets up and down the line well, his discipline will impress disciplinarian Mourinho.

We all know that Southampton are a club that will sell players for a big fee. They also have a couple of good young left-backs who could come in and take Bertrand’s place in the team.

The Saints may also be interested in taking twenty-one year old Shaw back to the club. They might believe that they can get him back to the player they sold in 2014. If they could then that would see him becoming a £30m star again.

Whatever happens, I think Luke Shaw’s time at Manchester United will come to an end this summer (even if it’s just temporarily). I also believe that Southampton will cash in on Ryan Bertrand.

Now whether the two clubs will do business together again this summer? Well that remains to be seen.

Posted on May 16th, 2017 by scott
Filed under: Article