Rúben Amorim has recently changed his stance on Luke Shaw’s future at Manchester United, and one “deadly” moment against Newcastle has proven why.
Luke Shaw has not started a single fixture for Manchester United in over a year, following a 45-minute display against Luton Town in February 2024.
Since suffering a muscle injury in that fixture, the player has played just seven fixtures for club and country, making three appearances for England during the 2024 European Championships and four as a substitute under Rúben Amorim so far.
Shaw was signed by the Old Trafford club in a £30 million move from Southampton when he was 19 years old, at the time making him the most expensive teenage transfer, and his tenure at the club across the last 11 seasons at the club have been riddled with injuries.
Is it no secret that, when fit, Shaw is one of the best left-backs in world football, but having missed a total of 231 fixtures through injury in his entire time at the club, there are ever-lasting frustrations surrounding the player.
Shaw’s “deadly” moment vs Newcastle
Prior to United’s 4-1 loss against Newcastle, Shaw’s last appearance for the club came in early December, but Amorim was able to throw the player on for 12 minutes in Tyneside amid the loss on Sunday afternoon.
It took mere minutes for Shaw to make some form of impact on the tie, with his trademark final ball immediately on display.
Gaining the ball on the edge of Newcastle’s final third, the English defender delivered a “deadly” cross to find striker Rasmus Højlund, who headed the ball just wide after some good anticipation from the out-of-form Danish international.
Aside from Garnacho’s goal, it was one of United’s best moves of the game. Shaw created two chances during the few minutes he was on the field—only Bruno Fernandes matched this number for United across the 90 minutes, also creating two.
Amorim has changed his mind about Shaw’s future
Earlier this year, it was reported that there was a “serious possibility” that Amorim would sanction the sale of Shaw this summer, with club co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe “perplexed” as to why the defender was still at Old Trafford.
However, following his return to training in the last few weeks, fresh reports have emerged that Amorim now believes Shaw “still has a future” at United, as the head coach sees Shaw as a very good fit as a left-sided central defender, with his 12-minute display against Newcastle proof of this.
The above report claims that United’s “plan A” for Shaw is to see if he can make it to the end of the season unscathed and with no international football due to take place this summer beyond two World Cup qualifiers in June, the club hope he can build serious fitness across pre-season.
Should the player perform well in pre-season and prove his fitness, he will be kept in Amorim’s side. However, if this does not happen during the transfer window, his place at United will be reassessed in August.
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