Bharath Rammr
Manchester United are ready to offload defender Luke Shaw, and the news has alerted clubs like Tottenham and Chelsea, as per the reports from the Sun. Both London clubs were amongst the potential candidates to sign Shaw when he moved from Southampton to Manchester United in the summer of 2014 for around £30 million. Incidentally, Jose Mourinho was extremely keen on bringing the teenager to Stamford Bridge. Upon working with the player for the last six months, though, Mourinho seems to have come to a conclusion that he may not be a right fit for his team.
Shaw has clearly fallen out of favour at Manchester United with the boss even preferring Matteo Darmian, who was completely out of favour at the start of the campaign and is a right full-back by trade, in the left back positions of late. Shaw has not played for the club since appearing for 45 minutes in the EFL Cup game against West Ham United towards the end of November. Mourinho even went to the extent of questioning the commitment of the defender a month ago.
The lack of playing time is also affecting Shaw’s prospects at the international level. He was once seen as the next Ashley Cole for the England national team, but he has made only six appearances since making his debut in 2014. Rather than being completely forgotten from the international scene, Shaw would like to enhance his career prospects elsewhere. Manchester United are considering the possibility of selling the player, but only in the summer.
If that 21-year-old does come into the market, clubs like Tottenham and Chelsea will be in the hunt. Even though Shaw may not have excelled as a left back, his attacking qualities certainly makes him one of the best left wingbacks around. Chelsea have only one natural left-sided player in the squad, and they are more likely to come in for Shaw. Spurs already have one of the best left backs in the country, Danny Rose, and their interest has to be taken with a pinch of salt.
After having not played for United in almost 3 months without any specific injuries, it remains to be seen if Shaw make a reappearance in the first team before the end of the season. Jose Mourinho has also not been making public comments about Shaw, but there is an expectation that he could feature in the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final against Hull City next week. His chances of featuring in the weekend’s game against Stoke City do seem to be a little unlikely considering that Darmian and Daley Blind have been performing reasonably well.
