A WEAKER MAN WOULD HAVE BUCKLED
Mourinho & legend Pallister salute Luke Shaw’s resilience as he signs £195k-a-week deal to cap journey from whipping boy to star man
LUKE SHAW proved his strength of character to come through Jose Mourinho’s brutal “tough love” approach and earn himself a lucrative new Manchester United contract.
Shaw, who has signed a new fiveyear deal worth £195,000-a-week, said in the summer that he wanted to earn a new contract on merit, rather than so United could protect his market value.
And the 23-year-old has done just that, having re-established himself as United’s first-choice left-back this season and come back from the brink to prove the doubters wrong, not least his own manager.
At times under Mourinho, and previously Louis van Gaal, Shaw fulfilled the role of whipping boy, publicly admonished by both for perceived weight problems and a lack of commitment.
The consensus was the talent was there, but the application and professionalism were not, with Shaw in danger of watching a career at the highest level slip away through indiscipline.
But the new deal is vindication of his refusal to give up and Mourinho said: “Luke fully deserves this contract. He understood his development process, he has worked really hard at every level and he always believes in himself, which is a great attribute to have.
“Luke is still young and improving all the time and he must feel very proud of himself. I am delighted that we are keeping such a talented young English player with a bright future ahead of him.”
United legend Gary Pallister saluted Shaw’s mental strength and claimed weaker players would have given up and sought refuge at a lesser club.
“First and foremost he had a horrific injury and people forget that he was really starting to find his feet at United when he got that injury,” said Pallister.
“In his first season under Louis van Gaal he was stifled and barely seen beyond the halfway line.
“The following season he was freeing up and we were seeing the best of Shaw but then came the injury.
“He’s taken a bit of stick off Jose along the way as well, so a weaker man might have buckled and thought: ‘I need to get away’. But he’s taken it on the chin, worked hard and got himself a fitness coach. Now he’s reaping the benefits of that.
“He’s been one of our most consistent players so far this season and that’s going to be rewarded with a new contract.
“Long may this continue, because he was touted as being one of the best left-backs in the world three years ago. Hopefully now he can show that the people who were saying that were correct.”
Shaw’s United career got off to the worst possible start, after his £27million move from Southampton in 2014, when Van Gaal declared him overweight on United’s pre-season tour and made him train alone in Los Angeles.
But worse was to come the following September when Shaw suffered a double leg break in a Champions League tie at PSV Eindhoven, ruling him out for 11 months.
He returned the next season, but his progress was slow, although Mourinho was quick to publicly call him out when he felt Shaw had not delivered.
One of Shaw’s lowest points was against Brighton, when he was subbed at half-time in an FA Cup tie, with Mourinho again publicly admonishing the young England international.
And in the summer, Shaw was pictured on holiday in Ibiza looking out of shape.
At that stage it seemed there was no way back for him at United, but a phone call from Mourinho over the summer proved the catalyst for the defender to reclaim his place and earn a new deal.
A summer bootcamp in Dubai with United’s fitness and conditioning coach Gary Walker helped him get into peak shape for the new season.
And the hard work paid off, with Shaw starting the season ahead of Ashley Young as first-choice leftback. He hasn’t looked back.
He was publicly admonished for a perceived weight problem and a lack of commitment