How Shaw has fought for the right to play at United

Reflecting on United’s goalless draw with Liverpool in February, and specifically the flawless performance of Luke Shaw in nullifying the title-chasing Merseysiders, Romelu Lukaku was clear in his thoughts.

“Luke has been the best player of the season, for me,” said the Belgian striker. “He has been brilliant since the start. He has had his injuries but he’s playing regularly now and I am really happy for him. You cannot look at Luke as a prospect now; at his age he is a top player and is consistent. What more do you want from him?”

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer echoed: “When they need a goal and they take Mohamed Salah off you know Luke Shaw has played a good game,” but Lukaku’s initial case was no knee-jerk point; it was based on much more than the faultless 90 minutes Shaw had just enjoyed. The defender’s contribution towards a hard-earned point was merely a continuation of a sterling season’s work. Only David De Gea and Paul Pogba have started more United games than the Reds’ no.23 this season, and his consistently impressive displays have nailed down the left-back berth he had been tipped to monopolise since his 2014 arrival from Southampton.

In March’s FA Cup trip to Wolves, Luke notched his 100th United appearance, a milestone which has been a long time coming and fittingly arrived in what has comfortably been his most productive campaign with the Reds. Even though he had already established himself as United’s first-choice left-back before Solskjaer’s December arrival as caretaker manager, Shaw cites the Norwegian as a huge influence on his continued upsurge in form over recent months.

“It’s hard to try and pinpoint anything that I’ve changed, I haven’t changed anything massively,” he said. “I think it’s more down to confidence and enjoying myself again, a lot of which is down to the manager and the way he is with me.

“He’s helped me a lot since he’s come in and I think he’s helped a lot of other players as well. We’re very lucky to have this job but to do it day-in, day-out – like any job – you need to enjoy it. The more you enjoy it, the more you get out of it.

“Real positive things are happening and that’s showing on the pitch but also off the pitch. This place is a much better environment. There are lots of positives but I just need to keep going, keep focused and keep enjoying football.”

Enjoyment has been the primary factor in Shaw’s season, given the numerous setbacks he had encountered in his first four campaigns up in Manchester.

Having first appeared on Southampton’s bench at 16, notched 66 senior appearances and bagged a place in the PFA Team of the Year by 18, Luke’s was a career set on double speed. His capture in June of 2014 came with United between managers, but the club remained intent on securing the services of a defender who had just become the youngest player to appear at the World Cup in Brazil.

However, a hamstring injury sustained within two months of the move set the tone for a difficult period for the England international, who nevertheless picked up a nomination for 2014’s Golden Boy award, presented to Europe's best under-21 player. Cruelly, his rousing, ever-present start to the following season was curtailed by a badly broken leg which decimated the remainder of 2015/16. His next competitive appearance for United came almost a year later in the Community Shield victory over Leicester City, but his 2016/17 campaign was again disrupted by groin and foot injuries at key times.

In both seasons working under Jose Mourinho, Shaw made just 19 appearances per term and found himself under high-profile public scrutiny from his manager. Having reached the end of the original four-year deal he had penned with United, who then triggered a one-year extension, Luke sought to make a breakthrough and began 2018/19 in the form of his life.

The upturn in fortunes came as no surprise to Lukaku, who revealed: “Throughout the summer we kept in touch and I remember when he was in New York he was sending me videos of him running on the treadmill. I was in Russia for the World Cup and I got these videos and I saw someone who was going to come back and be good. He scored in the first game of the season against Leicester City and he has never looked back. He has always had the potential of being one of the best left-backs in the world, from the time when I used to play against him when he was at Southampton to now.”

In addition to nailing down his starting berth, Shaw received further tangible reward with a new, long-term contract back in October. At the time, Mourinho confirmed that last summer was a watershed in Shaw’s United career.

“He was not selected, I criticised him in training and he was telling me: 'In this moment I'm not the player you want but I want to play for you, I want to play for Manchester United,’ and he kept saying this all the time. So I always believed. It wasn't someone else telling me, it was him being strong enough to say that,” said the Portuguese.

”I was getting lots of signs and when last season ended and he told me: 'I want a fitness coach to come with me for the holidays,' I thought: 'Wow, this is a big click.' The kid was very focused on his objectives and he got what he fought for. He really fought for it.“

Having repeatedly battled back from injury and developed a positive means of dealing with public censure, Shaw’s determination to make a success of his United career is clear. So too is his commitment to the collective cause; his celebrations of other team-mates’ goals have always lain bare his passion for the job. His boundless joy after breaking his own scoring duck, in the season-opening win over Leicester, captured the beauty of the moment.

From the opening night of the season, there has been a clear evolution in Shaw’s performances. In addition to the development of his defensive game evident in shackling a variety of opponents, the increasingly experienced defender has recognised the risk-taking and responsibility demanded by Solskjaer’s United. Marcus Rashford will forever be etched in club history for his nerveless last-minute penalty winner against Paris St Germain, but the spot-kick arose from an attack started by Shaw’s drive. Having first nabbed possession from Dani Alves, the England left-back picked up the ball in his own half, sped away from the Brazilian and fed the ball infield to Tahith Chong. Moments later, Diogo Dalot’s speculative shot prompted the VAR penalty award which allowed United to make history.

The reward for a sweat-soaked shift was a place in folklore as part of the team that made Champions League history, and he has his sights set high for the future.

“You want to try and prove why you're here,” he said. “You've just got to enjoy it and you've got to take it as it comes. You want to play against the best, you want to test yourself against the best and I want to keep doing that in my career.

“I'm still quite young. There's always room to improve and that's what I want to do, keep improving and see what happens. I think I've still got another level to come. I don't think I am really at my best and I know what I can do when I'm at my best. There's still more to come from me especially and that's me being honest.

“I feel I can do more but the only thing I need to focus on is myself, keeping in the right condition and pushing myself every day to try to become what I want to be. There are a few things in my mind that I know I can do, but I need to do more of it. But that's something for me and I need to do that myself. I just want to keep working hard and the most important thing in football is to keep enjoying it.”

Luke Shaw’s enjoyment and excellence have been evident throughout the 2018/19 campaign and, as we edge towards the time of year when United’s end-of-season awards are handed out, he is a strong shout to pick up further reward for his contribution to the cause.