Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho was blunt in his opinion of England International Luke Shaw after the goalless draw with West Brom Albion on Saturday.
When asked about the defenderr after the game, Jose said:
“It is difficult for him to be on the bench, I cannot compare him with Ashley Young, with Matteo Darmian, with Daley Blind. I cannot compare the way he trains, the way he commits, the focus, the ambition. I cannot compare. He is a long way behind.”
This is not the first time the duo would make known the discord between them. Jose Mourinho, back when he was at Stamford Bridge, did not agree to the left-back wages demand to bring him to Chelsea and when he openly expressed his disapproval of his absence in the match against Swansea City in November.
Then manager Louis Van Gaal agreed to a deal of £130,000-a-week with Shaw after paying £27 million to Southampton. However, the 21-year old went on an injury enforced for almost a year following a double leg-break injury in a Champions League game.
This season started on a good note, as he only missed 15 minutes of United,s first five fixture, but has again lost consistency as he’s only made just 3 appearances since. The Englishman got backlashed by Mourinho after the Swansea win, after which he was sidelined again with a groin injury till Febuary and has made just one appearance since he came back.
Being left out of the squad that played against West Brom, despite the United team being afflicted by injury and suspension, was major set-back to his career at the Old Trafford. Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Paul Pogba and Juan Mata are all nursing injury, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic was still serving his suspension.
19-year-old Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Axel Tuanzebe both made the substitute team as backup defenders instead of Shaw.
It is doubtful if the left-back, who came to the club for an exorbitant fee, will ever become better than he presently is with Mourinho as the boss and he might as well be on his way out of the club in the summer. If Shaw decides to leave, he will be soughted by many Premier League clubs as players in his position are in short supply.