Shaw & Valencia Are Key To United's Title's Bid

ManUtd.com's Ryan Grant blogs on the importance of Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia to the Reds' title challenge...

It's amazing how much can change in a year, especially in football.

Last August, almost a year ago to the day, I sat and watched as United brushed aside Club Brugge to all but secure a place in the Champions League group stages. A star performer on the night was Luke Shaw, who was beaming as he walked through the mixed zone to speak to us after the game. And who could blame him? No sooner was the defender out of his teens than out of the tunnel at Old Trafford for his first experience of club football's premier competition. That evening, Shaw was as impressive off the pitch as he had been on it, and spoke at length about taking in that famous music before kick-off, something we've all dreamed of growing up.

Fast forward 12 months, and very few people would have predicted that the match would remain his only taste of a European home game to date.

Luke's horrific leg break during our visit to PSV Eindhoven exactly four weeks after the meeting with Brugge was nothing short of devastating; and while no United fan needs reminding of the details of that incident, or the sour taste that lingered as a result for a long while afterwards, watching Shaw pick up where he left off elicits emotions at the other end of the spectrum.

He may have had to wait in the wings following his injury, but the 21-year-old has returned seamlessly to the left flank since the pre-season run-out against Wigan, producing the kind of astute defensive displays in the early part of this campaign that first saw him catch the eye at Southampton. Coincidently, it was against his former club last Friday that Luke's comeback really came to the fore. A trademark marauding run into the box earned United a penalty and set the tone for another win, one which has got people wondering just how much this side can achieve. It's a cliché, but seeing Shaw back at his blistering best, it feels like we have a new signing.

Victory over the Saints capped an undoubtedly positive week, at the end of which another of United's stand-out defenders, Antonio Valencia, was hailed as "the best right-back in the world" by team-mate Ander Herrera. Now into his eighth year as a Red, it's fair to say the Ecuador international has taken a different path to Shaw, but the sentiment surrounding his resurgence feels very much the same.

Of course, it's easy to get carried away while the season is still young, but Valencia has already done much to suggest that he will flourish under Jose Mourinho. Four assists in pre-season - including one for Zlatan Ibrahimovic's late winner in the Community Shield - are just a few of several indicators that Antonio has rediscovered the attacking flare to compliment his defensive capabilities. It seems to me that the message from Mourinho has been clear - get at defenders, take a risk and get the ball into the box. With the likes of Ibrahimovic, Eric Bailly, Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini in the side, it's a recipe for goals, and one which Valencia has wasted little time in serving up.

What the manager will seek now though is consistency, and there's every reason to suggest he will get it. For many fans, Valencia has been a silent hero during his time at United - he's a player that rarely puts a foot wrong, and appears to have added an extra dimension to his game again in recent months.

Everywhere he's been Mourinho has built on the foundations of a settled defence, often featuring players with the flank qualities we've seen from Shaw and Valencia of late. There has been a lot of talk about United returning to the summit of English football this season, and if the pair can continue their fine form with a long run in the side, there's no reason why the 2016/17 campaign couldn't be a 'special one' at Old Trafford.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be considered as representative of Manchester United Football Club.

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