Name: Luke Shaw

Date of Birth (Age): 12th July 1995 (25 years old)

Signed: 27th June 2014 (£33m)

Appearances: 96

Appearances this season: 33

Goals this season: 1

Assists this season: 3

Clean Sheets: 15

Average Tackles per game: 1.5

Passing Average: 87.2%

Contract Till: 30th June 2023

After being named as Manchester United’s Player of the Year for the dismal 2018/19 season, bigger and better things were expected of Luke Shaw for this season. But things went wrong for Luke Shaw early on as he found himself injured after three games and was sidelined for a long time until he eventually returned against Astana in the young and untested team that unfortunately lost 2-1 but you could see he was rusty and needed more time to get fit. The competition or lack of between Shaw and Young meant that Shaw, when available was guaranteed a start but since the rise of Brandon Williams, Luke Shaw was in and out of the side based on form and fitness so played irregularly in the late stages of 2019. It was looking like a dire season for Shaw until he turned things around and coincidentally around the time Fernandes came into the team; he kept Adama Traore at bay when United were held to a draw against Wolves in the league and then flitted between the starting left back and a left centre back against the likes of City and Chelsea and in the 18 game run in which United were unbeaten before his injury, he only missed 61 minutes and improved on both his defensive work and attacking runs and contributions. It was a massive shame when he came off injured against Southampton as would prove pivotal to United conceding late on to draw. Overall I would say he has had a decent season, certainly not better than the season before but perhaps that was because everyone was bad defensively bar Shaw and Lindelof. I think when he is fit, he is one of the better left backs in the league and all he has to do is work on his final ball in the box and he could be a crucial player next season. Williams being hot on his tail has pushed him and improved him as a player and despite the calls for a new left back, I expect Solskjaer will give Shaw one more chance and if he can’t manage to stay fit and improve next season, I hope United go all out for Alphonso Davies or Theo Hernandez. 

I would say that staying fit should be his only priority if United were in the position they were in last season but they’re not. He has to stay fit but he also has to improve on his final ball as he may have been in the right positions in attack but his deliveries or cut backs were never very good and the modern fullback has to be able to defend well and attack clinically. This has to be his biggest season for United as I think Ole is poised to replace Shaw if he can’t do these things consistently and as I said above I can see him going for another fullback next summer should Shaw fail to impress as United are expected to mount a title bid in the coming season.