MX23RW : Sunday, July 7 09:58:26| >> :120:40805:40805:

Luke Shaw happy to sign new Manchester United deal after ‘an odd four years’

It seemed the 23-year-old was on the brink of exiting Old Trafford only a few months ago.

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 £30million in June 2014.

He said on the club’s official app: “I’m very proud and happy. It’s been an odd four years for me.

“There have been ups and downs. From signing today now it’s all about looking forward and to how much I can help the team and become a success again.

“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-a-half-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.

Mourinho has condemned Shaw’s attitude and focus in the past while he questioned the tactical awareness of the defender following an FA Cup win over Brighton in March.

The public flak led to reports of Shaw thinking about leaving the club, but his improved form this season saw him earn an England recall last month after missing out on Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad.

“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.

“I’m really happy to be in this form and over the pre-season I was working very hard to make sure that I gave myself the best opportunity to be able to put myself in the team, and thankfully I have done that.

View this post on Instagram

What a feeling! ❤ #MUFC

A post shared by Luke Shaw (@lukeshaw23) on

“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. That’s what I’m going to be doing.”

Shaw’s form has been one of the few positives for United this season, with Mourinho under heavy scrutiny following a difficult start to the campaign that has seen the club lose three of their opening eight top-flight fixtures.

The 23-year-old is convinced better times lie ahead, adding: “I think personally it’s only a matter of time that the success is going to be coming back.

“I can see the team that we have here. We have an amazing group of players and the talent we have is scary, there are a lot of young lads that are hungry for trophies.”

Mourinho had warm words of encouragement for Shaw, saying: “Luke fully deserves this contract. He understood his development process, he has worked really hard at every level and he always believes in himself which is a great attribute to have.

“Luke is still young and is improving all the time and he must feel very proud of himself. I am delighted that we are keeping such a talented young English player with a bright future ahead of him.”

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By David Charlesworth, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '172a28ef-cd5c-47b5-adab-c7311f12dbdc');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Luke Shaw happy to sign new Manchester United deal after \u2018an odd four years\u2019'});

ID:338917: cacheID:338917:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:22636:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Read more about Manchester United Football
rhs 2.0
Euro 2024 fixtures header
Tuesday, July 9
 
8pm
Semi-Finals
Spain
vs.
France
Wednesday, July 10
 
8pm
Sunday, July 14
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England31205
Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
4 Serbia Serbia30212

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria32016
Q France France31205
Q Netherlands Netherlands31114
4 Poland Poland30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!