FOOTBALL Fading United star can shine again SHAW NEEDS YOUNG OUTLUK
Exile must convince Jose he can still do it, says Albiston Mitro eyes China cash
LUKE SHAW’S fast fall from a teenage star with the world at his feet to a shell of a player with an uncertain future has been spectacular.
And, with his days at Manchester United looking numbered, the £ 27million defender has been urged to try to save himself by taking a look at the way Ashley Young has reinvented himself at Old Trafford.
The message comes from Arthur Albiston ( right), a United left-back with almost 500 appearances for the club in a 14-year career that ended in the early years of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign.
Glimmer
Many reckon Shaw’s time at United is already done, with boss Jose Mourinho believing the 22-year-old has neither the mental strength or desire he wants from one of his players.
But miracles can happen – and Albiston has pinpointed Young’s revival as evidence that Shaw might still have a glimmer of hope.
Albiston said: “What Luke Shaw i s enduring is a character test. Sometimes it’s not always about ability, but the mentality to overcome the kind of tough situations that he is facing now.
“Just look at Ashley Young.
“If you’d told him, when Mourinho came in, that he’d be reinvented as a left-back, keeping young players like Daley Blind and Shaw out of the team, he’d have said you were off your head.
“It looked like end of road for Young.
“But now he’s Jose’s go-to man at left-back – and that’s because he’s shown the hunger and drive to refuse to accept it was the end of the road.
“Mourinho will immediately see that desire as a sign that hat here is a player he can trust in difficult situations.
“He demands a lot from his players and any weakness you have will be exposed working under d him, so you have to be strong, physically and mentally.”
If Shaw could have one wish, it would surely be that he never made the surging 15th-minute run towards the PSV Eindhoven penalty box in Holland, on September 15 2015. Because that was the moment a shockingly reckless tackle by defender Hector Moreno left him with a gruesome double leg fracture, which halted the promise of a glittering career in its tracks.
Fast- forward more than two years and Shaw’s professional life is still derailed.
His physical wounds have healed, but he has not recovered the momentum he showed at the start of that s eason when he was delivering performances that were justifying his hefty price-tag from Southampton.
Albiston added: “Shaw’s not been helped by a change of manager because, under Lou Louis van Gaal, he se seemed to be finding h his feet, but he’s found Mourinho more difficult to i impress.
“His confidence is clearly shot to pieces i and he looks as if he has no self-belief.
“You only build confidence by playing, so it’s a vicious circle since he’s not getting game time because Mourinho won’t play him.”
If Shaw needs more role models, he need look no further than Marouane
Fellaini and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who have had their struggles with United.
Both showed huge mental strength to overcome hurdles.
Armenian playmaker Mkhitaryan had t o prove himself to the Reds’ boss before being given a chance last season, following his £ 26.9m move from Borussia Dortmund.
Ambition
And Fellaini was booed by United fans after giving away a late penalty to prevent United winning at his former club, Everton, last season.
But now he is one of Mourinho’s big- game players.
“Fellaini and Mkhitaryan haven’t found it easy, but they have won the trust of Mourinho,” said Albiston.
“Shaw’s only hope now is to knuckle down and show Mourinho in training that he has the drive and ambition to rescue his career at United – but that won’t be easy.” NEWCASTLE striker Aleksandar Mitrovic is keen on a move to China. The Serbia star is a target for South Coast rivals Southampton and Brighton, but is eyeing a lucrative switch to the Chinese Super League. He did himself no harm by scoring in his country’s 2-0 win against China in Guangzhou on Friday. Mitrovic signed from Anderlecht for £13million in 2015, but Toon boss Rafa Benitez has started him in only one game this season – the 3-2 Carabao Cup home defeat by Nottingham Forest. Mitrovic, 23, scored then and in the 3-0 home win overWest Ham in August, after which he picked up a retrospective three-match ban for elbowing Manuel Lanzini.