Luke Shaw’s relationship with Mourinho was never stable, to begin with. The English full-back has only made a handful of appearances for the Red Devils this season. It was reported earlier that Mourinho was unimpressed with the player’s fitness, lack of tactical knowledge and lazy attitude.
Things did become smooth for a while but circumstances have boiled up again with Mourinho once again criticizing the defender in public.
Mourinho said on Saturday that he chose to substitute Shaw rather than Valencia because “at least Antonio defensively was capable of good positioning. Luke, in the first half, every time they came in his corridor, the cross came in and a dangerous situation was coming,” the Portuguese said. “I was not happy with his performance.”
This has left Shaw’s future in the club in doubt. With Shaw’s new contract yet to be sorted out, this has put everything in chaos. A few weeks ago an Old Trafford source said: “Luke has had a series of one-on-one chats with the boss. He told him he will sanction an extended deal if he can continue to improve and make his mark. It’s an amazing turnaround for him after everything that’s happened. Luke is in a much better frame of mind now. He feels he has a future here despite everything that has been said and talked about.”
Shaw’s career developed in Southampton and he became not only a regular first-team player but a star with the Saints. He was developed and became a player of great potential under the then Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Finally in the summer of 2014, along came Louis Van Gaal at Manchester United and he signed Luke Shaw from Southampton for a hefty fee of £27m on a four-year deal. The then 19-year old promised a great future at Old Trafford but recurring injuries forced him out of the side and stagnated his career. He has now been at Old Trafford and has not played a single full season.
Despite being fit this time around from May, Mourinho had overlooked the England player in the earlier part of the season in favour of other United footballers like Ashley Young, Daley Blind and Matteo Darmian. It seriously looked as if the career for Shaw was all but over at Manchester United but the young player from the south of England has had a re-ignition of sorts to his football career at Old Trafford.
Shaw has an upcoming FIFA World Cup to fight for and with the likes of Ryan Bertrand and Danny Rose, all eligible for England; Shaw will have to be at the top of his game if he wishes to earn a spot. Shaw has had plenty of suitors before and is likely to have more in the future given his age but with the January window now closed and with United having around 20 odd games still to go this season, Shaw could use the opportunity well to express his talent on the pitch.
Moreover, better performance will also gain him leverage to dictate the terms with Newcastle believed to be chasing him. The Magpies are back in the Premier League and are performing the best they can with their limited resources.
Club owner Mike Ashley’s status of not spending an added penny on new players has put the club in trouble. They currently have Kenedy on loan from Chelsea and adding Shaw would definitely be an upgrade but whether they can afford him remains to be seen.
