Luke Shaw has had a rough go of it at Manchester United. Old Trafford gave him the richest contract for a teenager in English history when they brought him up from Southampton in the summer of 2014, and thus expectations were sky high. Luke Shaw battled fitness concerns early on, and then a series of injuries as his Red Devils career progressed. His commitment and dedication was also called into question.
Just as he was settling in as the first team left back, he suffered the gruesome leg injury in September 2015 versus PSV Eindhoven in UEFA Champions League play. He hasn’t been the same player since.
When Jose Mourinho took over for Louis van Gaal, major problems continued for Shaw, who was harshly called out by Mourinho in public on a few occasions. Like Van Gaal before him, Mourinho questioned Shaw’s dedication and commitment.
Luke Shaw accepted the criticism and vowed to prove Mourinho wrong. Many thought that the young Englishman’s career with the Red Devils was over after this past season, but here he is, still fighting for a spot, as Mourinho has given him another opportunity, according to multiple sources.
The Daily Star writes that: “Mourinho has been impressed with Shaw’s approach to pre-season and determination to take on board his demands. Having decided not to cut his losses and sell Shaw to the highest bidder, Mourinho is willing to give him another chance to establish himself at Old Trafford.”
Shaw has been training alone, away from the rest of the United squad in Westwood, California on the campus of UCLA this week. He is not expected to play in any of the summer preseason tour exhibition matches, and his target return date is the regular season opener at home versus West Ham United on August 13th.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV.
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