The Story So Far…
Ever since breaking into Southampton’s first team at the age of 17, many tipped Luke Shaw to be the next big thing after Bale’s astronomic rise from the academy, and why not? Both players were oddly similar when they broke into the first team at the club, both technically gifted as well as blessed with blistering pace from young. Everything from his youth seemed to point Shaw to be the rightful heir to Ashley Cole in England’s starting line-up one day.
Fast forward 9 years today, and Shaw’s story could’ve been plucked out from an episode of Breaking Bad for the number of twists that occurred. The England International was a subject to constant criticisms over commitment issues and poor performances by many. His performances were largely inconsistent, and injuries seemed to get the better of him every time he’d struck form. The double leg-break suffered in 2015 didn’t help either and his career looked to be over under Mourinho. Even when Ole was appointed, many were still critical of the Englishman’s performances and questions his lack of tactical knowledge required for the top level. Mourinho did not hold back in his press conference after a draw against Everton in 2017.
|“He [Shaw] was in front of me and I was making every decision for him. He has to change his football brain,” Mourinho said. “We need his fantastic physical and technical qualities, but he cannot continue to play with my brain.” |
Under Ole, Shaw still has a lot to prove, mostly to himself after constantly regarded as the scapegoat by previous managers and a section of the fanbase. Perhaps his upturn in form and maturity came in conjunction to the birth of his child last season. Being a dad meant that he’s had less distractions of the pitch and since then, his living arrangements drastically improved from when he was at Southampton eating ‘stir-fries’ with his housemate in Southampton. Ever since Project Restart, Shaw has been a mainstay at left back even with the purchase of Alex Telles in the summer. This season, the England International at the age of 25, is currently having his best spell in a Manchester United shirt. With added competition, it seemed like his performances have reached new heights and is finally approaching the potential he was set out to reach as a teenager.
To provide a clearer look on Luke Shaw’s abilities and performances, I put him up against 4 of the league’s top performing left backs this season for their respective clubs, albeit in a different system. These 5 players are Matt Targett of Aston Villa, Lucas Digne of Everton, Kieran Tierney of Arsenal and Andrew Robertson of Liverpool. All figures below are based on performance per 90 minutes played, according to FBref.
Shaw vs Targett
Matt Targett has been an underrated figure in a much improved Aston Villa side who currently have the 2nd highest clean sheet in the league this season. Summer signing Emiliano Martinez has certainly been the difference for Villa, but Matt Targett has also played a huge role in Villa’s tight defence this season. Targett has been one of the league’s more consistent defenders and the former winger boast great defensive stat in the league. Unsurprisingly, Targett’s defensive contributions are slightly better than the Manchester United left back, with the latter only recording more successful pressures per 90. But this is mainly due to the two playing under a different tactical system. Aston Villa’s approach are more inclined to be conservative compared to United’s where a more pragmatic approach is required to break teams down who sit back. With that, Shaw and United will naturally see more of the ball and have lesser defensive numbers than other fullbacks.
This is not to say Shaw is incapable of defending as his tackling, recoveries, and interceptions per 90 still hold a respectable score against a defensively solid Targett. However, it is Shaw’s offensive output which has blown Targett away, with the former averaging much more contributions in the attacking phase of the game. Perhaps a better indication of Shaw’s attacking contributions can be seen later on when compared to more offensive wingbacks in the league, but Shaw’s defensive numbers though underperforming by a small amount compared to the Villa man, still hold a very respectable number and contribution compared to other wingbacks in the league. More so when you consider Aston Villa’s approach to the game is not as dogmatic as Manchester United’s.
Though it is important to recognize that the two players have different roles on the pitch. Both players are required to provide their teams with different qualities and responsibilities. The defensive numbers Shaw produces, is able to provide Manchester United a sense of ease when defending.
Shaw vs Digne
Lucas Digne has been Everton’s key performer and primary creator over the multiple seasons he has been in the Premier League. The former PSG and Barcelona player has been a revolutionary signing for the toffees back in 2018, with the Frenchman scoring and assisting a number of goals throughout his career with Everton so far. The introduction of Carlo Ancelotti can only bring Digne to new heights as he reaches his prime at 27 years of age.
When compared to Shaw, Digne only overperforms Shaw’s xG + xA per 90 by 0.01, meaning Shaw has also been threatening and offering much more chances with a higher SCA per 90. Digne is not known to be a dribbler in his career but rather likes to cross or release his ball early to the penalty area for the likes of Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin to pounce, which explains the rather low dribbles and carry recorded, but the Englishman has also recorded more key passes, progressive passes as well as passes into penalty area per 90 compared to Digne. For that, Shaw has demonstrated his attacking creativity and technical abilities to be greater than Digne, who has been one of Everton’s source of creativity in recent times.
In terms of defending, both full backs have similar numbers considering both teams prefer to isolate opposition wingers to fullbacks in wider areas of the pitch, rather than seeing the respective teams being carved open through the middle. Digne does exceed Shaw in most of the defensive aspect of the game by a rather small margin, but other than that, Shaw is seemingly just as important to United as Digne is to Everton. This does prove that Shaw has massively been undervalued and unfairly criticized for his attacking outputs and qualities he definitely possesses, drawing up similar attacking numbers to the highly sought-after Lucas Digne.
Shaw vs Tierney
Tierney has been regarded as one of if not the most consistent player under Arteta’s Arsenal. Though falling behind in the league, Tierney has shown time and time again for his immense work rate and grit in games no matter the occasion. The Scot has however endured a rough time with injuries since he arrived last season and Arsenal seem to perform poorly when he isn’t around. With Aubameyang drifting inwards in games as an inside forward, Tierney normally occupies the entire left flank by himself and creating chances for others. In some ways, he plays a similar role and style to Luke Shaw with Rashford constantly drifting inside from the left channel. As such, comparing the two players may be the closest comparisons in terms of the role they operate for the team.
As it can be seen from the chart above, Shaw has been outperforming Tierney in every aspect except clearances per 90. Both players draw up similar numbers when it comes to the chances, they both create for the team and their ball carrying abilities to drive the team forward, but Shaw slightly overperforms Tierney in those aspects. For much of the defensive stability Tierney brings to the left side of his team, Shaw also outperforms the Scot in this aspect, proving to be one of the league’s better defenders and more importantly, a more complete player.
While it can be argued that Manchester United have a much reliable midfield stability compared to Arsenal’s this season, the numbers shown above are still enriching. Shaw has been consistent in his attacking outputs and have been great when progressing the ball forwards to conjure up attacking opportunities. This allows United to penetrate opponents from the left consistently, creating high volume of chances and opportunities for the likes of Cavani and Martial to score.
Shaw vs Robertson
Andrew Robertson has been touted as one of the world’s best left backs for some time now. The Champions League winner has certainly seen the highs and lows of football and has become one of Liverpool’s best players in recent times. When compared to Shaw however, The English international surprisingly outperformed Robertson in many Aspects of the game. It must be stated that Liverpool play a very aggressive gegenpressing style which requires Robertson to play almost as the winger. This is proven as Andrew Robertson has the most touches in the league this season with 2234 touches, with 862 touches in the attacking third of the pitch, which is also the highest in the league. This would suggest his defensive numbers should be lower than the average fullbacks in the league as can be seen with the defensive contributions above. Shaw greatly outperforms Robertson in most defensive aspects including successful pressures per 90, which is surprising having consider the high pressing and hard running style Robertson is required to play in Liverpool’s system. Of the defensive stats, Robertson only betters the United man in Recoveries per 90.
Perhaps what is most impressive is that other than xG + xA per 90, Shaw has also outperformed the Scotland international in most attacking contributions in the league this season. That said, Robertson only outperformed Shaw in xG + xA per 90 by a 0.02, a minimal margin. Shaw has completed more successful dribbles per 90 as well as carrying the ball up the pitch more often than the Premier League champion. Although the pair are deployed in different systems for their respective teams, the fact that Luke Shaw is outperforming Robertson across most the metrics above is indicative of Shaw’s improvement to the attacking side of his games as well as becoming a more complete footballer than many may assume.
The Scots may register more goals (1) and assists (5) than Shaw, the former will definitely chip in with more goal contributions as his xG and xA suggests due to the positions he is beginning to take up. Moreover, expect Shaw’s assists numbers to increase significantly after Manchester United’s forwards seemed to have found their scoring touch as evident in a recent 9–0 victory against Southampton and a 3–3 draw against Everton.
Luke Shaw’s Rebirth
The truth is, nobody could truly recover after a potential career ending injury he endured 6 years ago. The fact that he is still competing at a top level with Manchester United after all that he has been through is not only a testament to his quality but his mentality. As explained by himself, he could’ve lost his right leg the night of the incident and has contemplated retiring multiple times throughout his long rehabilitation process. Understandably, Shaw wouldn’t have surged forwards as much as he did as a teenager due to the horrifying experience, but it seemed like he has finally looked past the setback and has been surging forward more and more over the past season, carrying the ball forward at a higher rate than he ever did at Manchester United after his injury with 7.27 progressive carries this season.
Credit has to be made for Ole and his coaching staff too, for persisting with Shaw despite poor performances in the early days of Ole’s Manchester United tenure. His tactical awareness has only improved overtime thanks to the coaching staffs encouraging the left back rather than branded as the scapegoat by Mourinho. Perhaps, what Shaw needed was an arm round his shoulder after all that he had to face in his career. A word of encouragement, a show of support, a sign of trust that he felt was lacking during the start of his United career. Now approaching the prime of his career, Luke Shaw has been playing the best football of his career and been a key figure in the dressing room to youngsters coming up the ranks like Brandon Williams. As if man of the match performances against Barcelona and Liverpool weren’t enough to please sections of United fans, many can finally appreciate the £30 million investment made 6 years ago, come to fruition. Long may his renaissance continue.
