Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Dropped Man Utd star breaks silence on ruthless Ten Hag call –  ‘he knows what I’m capable of and we’ve had chats’

Man Utd stars Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw

A Man Utd star ousted by a summer recruit has broken his silence on Erik ten Hag’s decision, and outlined what he must do from here on out.

United’s summer window was a rollercoaster, though when all was said and done, they splashed out well over £200m. The headline grabbing names were the arrivals of Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Antony who all arrived in big money deals.

However, arguably the quickest settler has been free agent addition Christian Eriksen, closely followed by Tyrell Malacia.

The Dutch international, 23, arrived for just £13m and his displays thus far have already made a mockery of that valuation.

Malacia looks every bit a Premier League full-back and wasted little time displacing the more established Luke Shaw.

Indeed, Malacia has started all six of Manchester United’s matches in all competitions since the 4-0 drubbing against Brentford. United have won five of those six, keeping three clean sheets along the way.

It was a rude awakening for Shaw who would’ve expected Malacia to slot in as his back-up, not replacement.

As recently as the 2020-21 campaign Shaw won Man Utd’s Players’ Player of the Season. He also earned a place in the Premier League team of the year that campaign.

His levels dipped last season and Ten Hag was not hesitant to pull the trigger on installing his new recruit as first choice.

Now, speaking to talkSPORT, Shaw has opened up on losing his place.

“The start of the season wasn’t good enough” – Luke Shaw

The left-back claimed he’d held “chats” with Ten Hag about his situation, and admitted his early-season performances weren’t up to scratch.

However, Shaw isn’t content to lose his place for good and aims to catch the eye when opportunities come.

“I think Ten Hag, the boss, he knows my qualities, he knows what I’m capable of and we’ve had chats,” said Shaw.

“It’s understandable that, and I even agree, the start of the season wasn’t good enough and he had to make changes and I fully accept that, I accepted it.

“The only thing I can do is train hard and wait for my opportunities, whether that’s in the cup games or the Premier League.

“Whatever I play in I just have to be ready and play at the standard I should be at.”

Competition will benefit Shaw long-term

Shaw remains firmly entrenched in Gareth Southgate’s England plans. Thankfully for him at least, his lack of minutes at Manchester United won’t affect his World Cup chances.

However, the greater competition at club level will either make or break him and it should be the former.

United’s Europa League campaign will ensure Shaw gets plenty of opportunities to feature.

While Malacia was selected to start in the first two group matches, the fixture list is now poised to throw up two fixtures per week, every week, until the World Cup.

That will ensure Shaw gets the opportunities he craves and it’ll then be up to him to put the pressure back on Ten Hag to reverse his decision.