Luke Shaw has seen a lot of change during his time at Manchester United.
The England international is still only 27 years old. He has made 235 appearances for United since his £30million transfer from Southampton in June 2014 – a fee which made him the most expensive teenager in world football at the time.
He has played under six different managers at Old Trafford. Those bosses have brought about gigantic swings in form, mood and status at the club. At times, he has been every inch the player United splashed out on – an explosive and athletic left-back with a good positional sense. At others, he has looked unfit, devoid of confidence and guilty of hiding on the pitch.
This season, Shaw is enjoying one of his best spells in a United shirt. Erik ten Hag has revitalised the defender, adding strings to his bow and helping him re-establish himself as one of the Premier League ’s very best.
Therefore, is is a good time to reflect upon his rollercoaster eight years, six months and 20 days at United – a stint which, remarkably, makes him the 15th-longest serving player in the Premier League.
Potential
Shaw was signed in the summer of 2014 before Louis van Gaal had even come through the front door and taken charge of the team. The Dutchman was appointed manager in May but didn’t join up with his new team until after he was done managing the Netherlands at the 2014 World Cup.
It was therefore left to assistant manager Ryan Giggs to provide the quotes upon his arrival. "Luke is a very talented young left-back with great potential," he said. "He has developed immensely during his time at Southampton and has all the attributes to become a top player."
Despite being only 18 years old, Shaw was already capped by England and had 67 appearances under his belt with Southampton, where he made his debut aged 16 and had shown himself to be an exciting, attacking and reliable left-back under Mauricio Pochettino’s guidance.
He was signed as a long-term replacement for Patrice Evra, who had signed a one-year extension with United but was on the way out.
Mourinho feud
Shaw suffered a broken leg on September 15, 2015, with the injury curtailing his time under Van Gaal, who was sacked and replaced by Jose Mourinho in May 2016. The Portuguese’s reign was to prove a difficult time for Shaw. He played under Mourinoh for two-and-a-half years, yet never saw eye-to-eye with him.
Mourinho constantly jibed at his young defender, saying he “cannot continue to play with my brain” after a game in which he needed a lot of coaching. Two years later, he questioned “the focus, the ambition” of Shaw’s approach to training.
"Our relationship wasn't the best,” Shaw explained in 2021. “It was probably quite easy to see that from the outside. But one thing Jose did do was make me mentally much stronger. I think mental strength is what I would describe that period under Jose Mourinho.
"I think I felt part of the team under Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer], whereas under Jose, sometimes I didn't.”
Even many years later, when working as a pundit, Mourinho was quick to criticise the left-back. He described England’s set-pieces at the European Championship as “dramatically bad” and Shaw’s delivery as “poor”.
That sparked a response from Shaw. “He just needs to move on,” he said in response to Mourinho. “Hopefully he can find his peace with that and finally move and stop worrying about me. Clearly, I am in his head a lot and he clearly thinks about me a lot.”
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Award embarrassment
At the end of the 2018/19 season, Shaw scooped two prestigious awards: he was named Manchester United's Player of the Year award – also known as the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award – and the Players' Player of the Year, as voted for by his team-mates.
That would normally be a reason for celebration. Yet, the awards evening came at an awkward time for United, who were bombing in the league under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ’s management. Reports at the time said players felt “uncomfortable” and “embarrassed”, with the club poised to finish sixth in the Premier League and fail to qualify for the Champions League.
A column for The Mirror declared Shaw “Man Utd's worst-ever Player of the Year”. Even his bright spots at United were tinged with an element of controversy.
Reinvention
This season has seen a real resurgence from Shaw, who seems to have used Ten Hag’s arrival as a chance to press the reset button. Ten Hag signalled his intent straight from the off by bringing in Tyrell Malacia as his first summer transfer. If that was a challenge to Shaw, then it worked.
Shaw has started 14 of United’s 19 Premier League games this season and has noticeably improved as the campaign has wore on. His form was rewarded by Gareth Southgate, who retained him as first-choice left-back at the World Cup and since returning, he has shown another weapon in his arsenal.
Ten Hag decided to try out the ex-Southampton player as a left-sided centre-back upon his return from Qatar, and has been delighted with the results. Shaw has been so good that he has been keeping Harry Maguire and summer signing Lisandro Martinez on the bench at times.
“We have seen the last two games he has been fabulous,” Ten Hag said of the 27-year-old earlier this month. “He has impressed but, of course, we also know he's really good as a left full-back. It’s an extra option and that’s always good for a team.”
Shaw was back at left-back for the 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace on Wednesday, but there is no doubting that his stock has rarely been this high during his eight-year stay at United.
