Luke Shaw return is good news for Man Utd and Chelsea
- Kaustubh Pandey
Man United voted the 22-year-old as the Man of the Match for his showing on Wednesday, but this wasn’t the first time that something of that sort has happened this season. This was Shaw’s second start this season, the first appearance in the Premier League, but was also his second consecutive Man of the Match accolade. The former Southampton man had picked up the club’s award during United’s 2-1 win over CSKA Moscow in the Champions League two weeks ago and the showing against the Cherries was enough to suggest that Shaw still has a future at the club and is the long-term answer at left-back for the Red Devils.
The two performances came after Shaw has endured continual struggles with injuries ever since he broke his leg back in 2015 during a Champions League game against PSV Eindhoven. He did make nine starts under Jose Mourinho last season, but fell out of favor due to fitness problems and what has been described as issues with his attitude.
Shaw came under scrutiny ever since questions were raised about the aforementioned issues and the injury problems kept on ravaging him again last season. He lost his spot to the likes of Matteo Darmian, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind and essentially became a fourth-choice for the position. Despite that, there was a general feeling among many that the man who was signed from Southampton in 2014 by Louis van Gaal for a fee in the region of 27 million pounds could still step up to the plate and prove his worth. Game time, though, came few and far in between. And injuries became a regular occurence.
The promise that he has showed, be it at Southampton under Mauricio Pochettino or during his first season at United under Van Gaal, had faded away to give Shaw the form of a lost soul, whose career seemed to be fading away into obscurity. Both Tottenham and Chelsea emerged as possible destinations, as a move seemed inevitable.
And while it isn’t clear whether he would still move or not, the standing ovation that Shaw received on being substituted instilled a certain degree of faith into many that the road to rebuilding is underway for Shaw. It doesn’t just come as good news for United, who are yet to determine their first-choice left back, but it is good news for Chelsea as well. And maybe even Tottenham, who will be convinced by his abilities.
Chelsea have been tracking Alex Sandro since this past summer, but Juventus’ valuation of the Brazilian, despite his below par displays this season, would deter the Blues from signing him next summer. It seems obvious that Chelsea could sign a left-back, with Shaw and Spurs’ Danny Rose touted to be targets, but they will be encouraged in their chase to sign Shaw by the manner in which he performed. Danny Rose hasn’t been on song since he returned from injury last month and is yet to find his form for Tottenham.
It is believed that Juve are willing to lower their valuation for Alex Sandro, but United would value Shaw at a much lower price than Alex Sandro, depending on whether they sell the Englishman or not and depending on his performances in the coming games.