Luke not a Shaw thing for Solskjaer
Ole is backing his youngsters to come of age in Kazakhstan
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER admits Manchester United’s Europa League clash with Astana will be men against boys.
Solskjaer has taken one of the youngest United squads in history to Kazakhstan for this afternoon’s dead rubber in Group L.
United have already qualified while Astana have no chance of making the knockout stages following four straight defeats.
Solskjaer has seized the chance to give his youngsters some valuable experience, selecting 14 teenagers in his 18-man squad, with 10 of them first-time call-ups.
Lee Grant, Jesse Lingard and Luke Shaw are the only senior stars in the team who have made the 6,000-mile round trip.
And Solskjaer believes it is common sense to blood some of his future stars in a game that means little – and he is relishing the chance to see how they perform.
“It gives us to give game time to the an opportunity experienced lads who need it like Luke and Jesse, who haven’t had too many games coming back from injury,” said Solskjaer, who confirmed he will hand debuts to Ethan Laird, Di’Shon Bernard and Dylan Levitt.
“It’s hard to give kids games against men, but this is also a great chance for me to see them all together.
“You’re going to see some debuts from some of the young players and it’s a fantastic opportunity for me to see them perform. If they’re going to learn to play these European games then it’s a great start for them.
“I’m not expecting them to go out and dominate the game, but we should compete and challenge.
“This is the right challenge for these boys now and I think it will be a good game of football.”
The United squad arrived in Astana early yesterday morning following a seven-hour flight and, with little opportunity to adjust to a six-hour time difference, Solskjaer has told them to keep their body clocks on UK time.
This will be the biggest game in Astana’s history, with 300,000 fans applying for tickets to the match at the 30,254-capacity Astana Arena, and the hosts could be forgiven for thinking Solskjaer has shown them a lack of respect by bringing such a makeshift squad on the trip.
But Astana manager Roman Hryhorchuk said: “If they play within the squad of such a prominent team as Manchester United, then they are high-level
players.”
Mobility (SaleS)
Lee Grant (GK) Ethan Laird (RB) Axel Tuanzebe (CB) Di’Shon Bernard (CB) Luke Shaw (LB) James Garner (MF) Dylan Levitt (MF) Tahith Chong (MF) Jesse Lingard (MF) Angel Gomes (MF) Mason Greenwood (FW)
Age: 36 Age: 18 Age: 22 Age: 19 Age: 24 Age: 18 Age: 19 Age: 19 Age: 26 Age: 19 Age: 18
App: 1 App: 0 App: 14 App: 0 App: 109 App: 4 App: 0 App: 8 App: 183 App: 7 App: 18
LUKE SHAW has been told he is no longer a first-choice player at Manchester United.
The England defender goes on trial in sub-zero Kazakhstan today bidding to prove he does not deserve to be frozen out by boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Shaw has not played since August and, while on the sidelines struggling with a hamstring injury, has seen Brandon Williams, 19, stake his claim for the left-back slot.
Williams has grasped his chance to make the spot his own and it is understood Shaw has been told he is now behind the teenager in the pecking order.
Solskjaer has been so impressed by Williams’ performances that he has now shelved plans to sign competition for Shaw in the January transfer window.
Williams will miss this afternoon’s Europa League clash with Astana after being left at home along with most of United’s senior stars to prepare for Sunday’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa.
But despite taking 14 teenagers in his squad to Kazakhstan, Solskjaer will hand Shaw, 24, the chance to prove he deserves to be back in the first team.