Manchester United left back Luke Shaw has had a truly tumultuous and adverse career at Old Trafford. When he was brought up from Southampton he broke the English transfer fee record for a teenager, and expectations were set sky high. Although he settled in at the position on the first team for a period, multiple prolonged injuries have destroyed his progress.
Injuries have taken a toll in inhibiting his development, but he’s also had some self-inflicted issues too. His commitment to the game that he plays and his training to maintain fitness has been criticized by both his current manager Jose Mourinho, and his previous boss Louis van Gaal.
Luke Shaw has consistently found himself in the cross-hairs of Mourinho publicly, and it’s hard to think of a player still on the current roster who’s been thrown under the bus on more occasions than the young English defender.
According to Rio Ferdinand, a club legend who once captained the team and accomplished a lot during his time in the Red Devils back line, Mourinho is testing Shaw.
“It looks like he is testing them mentally,” Ferdinand told BT Sport.
“Hit them with something — are you going to stay down or are you going to get up and fight? If you get up then he says yes, that’s the type of man I want in my team. As players, that’s what you want in your team. You don’t want players who will get one hit and shy away from things.”
“One bad pass in a game, shy away from taking the ball again for the next 10 or 15 minutes… that’s not how you win titles.”
“You need players who are going to be brave receiving the ball, not just physically but mentally, and saying whatever happens here going forward, I will be with you guys shoulder to shoulder.”
According to Ferdinand, Mourinho is providing tough love to Luke Shaw because he sees his tremendous potential and greatly wants the player to improve.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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