Is Luke Shaw an option for Everton?
It almost seems disrespectful given how well he has played since returning to the team, but thoughts are turning to who will succeed Leighton Baines at left back for Everton.
It’s also a position where there is a distinct lack of quality in reserve at Everton as the struggles of Cuco Martina filling in for Baines this season has underlined.
For me one possibility is the Manchester United full back Luke Shaw.
As reported in the Daily Star, former United great Paul Scholes believes that Shaw will be leaving Old Trafford this summer as his relationship with Jose Mourinho has broken down.
Shaw was once regarded as one of the most promising young defenders in England after he broke into the Southampton team.
Since his £27 million move to United from Southampton in 2014, Shaw has had an up and down time at the club.
He had established himself in the side before he suffered a broken leg playing in a Champions League tie in September 2015.
By the way what is it with full backs and double leg breaks – Bryan Oviedo, Seamus Coleman both of Everton and Shaw all in recent years??
He has come back successfully from that before suffering further injuries since then. And when he has played for United his form has been very inconsistent.
Mourinho for his part has been very critical of the young England left back and demanded a better attitude and work rate from him.
In his latest post-match tirade, following United’s 2-0 FA Cup win over Brighton, Mourinho indicated that he doesn’t think Shaw has what it takes to play for United.
All this makes it very difficult to see how Shaw has a future at Old Trafford, at least while Mourinho is manager.
I see parallels between him and other talented young English players who move early on in their careers to one of the high-profile top four clubs in big money transfers.
We’ve seen this at Everton with the departure of Jack Rodwell to Manchester City and just this season Ross Barkley’s (remember him?) move to Chelsea in January.
Although it’s still possible, if highly unlikely, that Barkley might break into the Chelsea team, Rodwell’s move to Manchester City was a disaster for the player.
He has just begun to establish himself in the Everton midfield, was being talked about as a possible future England player and was looking like a real talent with a bright future ahead of him before he went to City.
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It’s true that David Moyes didn’t seem to rate him particularly, although Moyes never was much good at handling young players it seemed, but it was still a move that always felt premature for the player.
Predictably enough he didn’t get a look in at City and ended up at Sunderland. There he has hugely disappointed in a very poor team and has endured relegation from the Premier League last season and is almost certainly facing another drop this season.
It’s a sad situation for a player who promised to have a really good career in the game at one time.
If Everton were to consider a move for Shaw, as I think they should, they would I’m sure face stiff competition, despite the player’s struggles at United.
There has been constant talk of him being involved in a swap deal for Tottenham’s Danny Rose, which would reunite him with his former Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino.
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It would though follow what seems to be an emerging pattern whereby Everton rescue English players whose careers have stalled or gone backwards!
Such as for example Theo Walcott and possibly too, if summer transfer rumours are to be believed, his former team-mate Jack Wilshere.