Shaw reflects on Old Trafford turnaround after signing new deal

Luke Shaw admitted the prospect of signing a new five-year deal at Manchester United may have seemed “impossible” until recently following a chequered spell with the club.

The left-back’s contract was due to expire next summer and it seemed he was on the brink of exiting Old Trafford only a few months ago after yet more public criticism from manager Jose Mourinho.

Shaw, though, has been a regular under the Portuguese this season and has decided to commit his long-term future to the club he joined from Southampton for a fee thought to be £30 million in June 2014.

He said: “It’s been an odd four years for me. There have been ups and downs. If you look at my situation in the last year and a bit, you’d have thought this could have been impossible. But I worked hard, I wanted to be here and I wanted to make sure my future was here to help this club.”

Injuries, form and fitness issues as well as a tumultuous relationship with Mourinho have punctuated Shaw’s time in the north-west.

He has made just 75 appearances in total, 50 of them in the Premier League, during his near four-and-ahalf-year stay after moving to United, shortly after making his England debut aged 18.

The transfer made Shaw the most expensive teenager in world football at the time but his career took a monumental hit in September 2015 when he suffered a double leg-break in a Champions League game against PSV Eindhoven.

Shaw revealed last month he nearly lost the leg, while it would be nearly a year before he made another competitive appearance.

“I think I knew how important this season was going to be, especially the start of it coming in the last year of (my contract),” he said.

“The hard work isn’t over. I want to stay in the team now and keep the shirt so I’ll keep going, keep focused and keep concentrating.”