Following Jose Mourinho’s lambasting of left-back Luke Shaw, could this be Liverpool’s opportunity to act and make an approach for the 21-year old?
Mourinho has questioned Luke Shaw’s commitment, saying he was incomparable to other counterparts in the side such as Daley Blind, Matteo Darmian and Ashley Young. He also suggested that Shaw doesn’t train well enough for his liking.
Based on Mourinho’s, it seems perfectly sensible to think that Liverpool shouldn’t try to sign him in the summer.
But. Think again.
There are quite a few who think this comment from Mourinho has stigmatised Shaw’s career but I disagree. I don’t think he would’ve turned off all potential suitors just yet. It’s easy to forget that Shaw only 21 years of age; he still has years of international and club football ahead of him.
It’s part and parcel of growing up. What matters now is how he responds to this.
I’m not saying Mourinho isn’t a world class manager but if you think about players he inherited who went on to have successful careers after he sold them, there is hope.
Take Kevin De Bruyne and Juan Mata. They are examples of players who succeeded when Mourinho let them leave Chelsea (even though Mata is under Mourinho’s tutelage right now) and such is Mourinho’s vexation at the Englishman, something tells me that he would be willing to offload Shaw to whatever side this summer.
I know transfers between Liverpool and Man United are very scarce, the last being Phil Chisnall back in 1964 but there’s no reason to believe it could be beyond the realms of possibility.
Many of Luke Shaw’s detractors have also cited his injuries as another problem that has hindered his career and could do so at Liverpool too. It’s true that he missed the majority of last season due to a double leg fracture in September 2015; but I think it’s doom-mongering to say that without looking at statistics.
Since the start of the 2012/2013 season, Shaw has only missed 138 days of football through injury (excluding the 2013/14) That equates to 46 days a season which in turn equates to just four games missed a season.
That, for me, is perfectly reasonable for somebody given such a notorious outlook for injuries.
But it’s not just his proclaimed ‘injury prone’ nature that seems to frustrate people when it comes to Shaw. There have also been some question marks over his general suitability as well as his reliability as a left-back.
Well.
Since 2012, Shaw has made five defensive errors for both Manchester United and his former club Southampton. In the 35 games he played in the 2013/2014 for Southampton, he made zero defensive errors. That season he only missed three games for the Saints and in two of those games Southampton lost to Norwich and Spurs.
Having a glance at those statistics, I’m sure quite a few Liverpool fans would take him over James Milner at the moment.
The Englishman was called to fill in the void at left-back; which is obviously an unnatural position for him having played in a midfield role for the entirety of his career. Although he has proven to be an upgrade over Alberto Moreno, there have been quite a few games where’s he struggled to provide any attacking threat.
In the 4-3-3, we have a tendency to lack pace and width, especially with Milner in the side out which is why I’ve been calling for a back three formation such as 3-5-2 or 3-4-1-2 which would enable us to have Moreno as a wing-back. That would offer tremendous pace.
I don’t think we should offload Moreno in the summer. He could be useful if we find ourselves in a situation struggling to beat low block sides like we have done so often this season. It is just far too prevalent to ignore it. I’ve always wanted ruthlessness from Klopp when it comes to tactical personnel.
But, we can solve our own problems this summer by simply signing superior players. We could perhaps revert to a 4-3-3 or a 4-3-1-2 next season if the right acquisitions are made.
The good thing about Shaw is that he is quite a flexible player. He could play in quite a few formations – rigid or not. His pace (although not as tremendous as Moreno!) is a key facet in ensuring this. More importantly, he is a natural left-back. Something we REALLY need this summer.
I’ve said this time and time again, but we will never win the league if these gaps aren’t filled. Simple as. I’m not saying that Milner should be sold though – his experience could be integral to the midfield.
To conclude, I do think Luke Shaw could be the missing piece in the jigsaw puzzle for Liverpool. What’s not to get excited about? If he nurtures under Klopp’s acclaimed coaching of youth products, the sky’s the limit.
