WHEN Luke Shaw joined Manchester United in 2014 he said in his first interview that he wanted to continue to progress his career and that United was the best place for him to do that.
It’s only really now, seven years on, that United supporters are starting to see him fulfil such potential.
It all might have been different if Shaw hadn’t suffered such a horrific injury in the Champions League game against PSV Eindhoven in 2015.
Shaw started that particular campaign flying out of the blocks, but through the resulting years, a combination of other niggly injuries, poor form, and managerial upheaval, has caused many to question whether or not he would survive at Old Trafford.
Even at the start of this season, fans questioned Shaw’s ability. It just felt like he was coming to the end, and that a change of scenery might suit both the club and player.
But, for the vast majority of the campaign, Shaw has proven himself to be the best full-back in the Premier League, and one of the finest in Europe.
He’s shown great mental strength too, to go from being an injury prone ‘possible’ to one of the first names on the team sheet.
His defensive positioning and pace means he’s a nightmare for opposing wingers, but his experience also means that he’s often on hand to prevent danger further up the pitch and away from his defensive third.
Going forward, he’s practically impossible to stop when in full flight, and he’s starting to add more goals and assists to his play.
But to get to this point has been quite a road.
After one match at Old Trafford, former manager Jose Mourinho had this to say about the England man:
“I will tell you because I told him already. It was a good performance but it was a good performance because it was his body with my brain.
“Because he was in front of me and I was making every decision for him. And the communication was possible because we were very, very close, but I was thinking for him.
“I was making every decision for him. We need at this level, the fantastic body he has to play football, the fantastic qualities he has, the very good technical ability he has – but he cannot play with my understanding of the game.
“He must understand the game, he must think.”
It isn’t unusual to hear Mourinho criticise his own players but following such a testing road back to fitness, you’d have thought that even Mourinho might have preferred to be less critical.
So, it’s fair to say that Shaw has come the full circle, and I predict that he’ll end the season with the club player of the year trophy to go alongside a position in England’s defence for the first game of Euro 2020.
Bruno Fernandes takes all the plaudits for his creativity, but without Shaw United might not find themselves in second place in the Premier League and on the verge of a Europa League semi-final.
@MrTomMcDermott
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
