Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has been talking up Luke Shaw after the defender’s derby performance.
Shaw was selected at centre-back ahead of World Cup winner Lisandro Martinez, captain Harry Maguire, and Victor Lindelof.
It was arguably the boldest selection call of Ten Hag’s reign so far in such a big fixture, and it paid off.
Shaw has impressed Ten Hag with his ability to play in two positions, and the manager also talked up the defender’s leadership.
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Ten Hag hails Shaw
Erik ten Hag was quoted by The Athletic ahead of Manchester United’s upcoming game against Crystal Palace.
Referring back to the Manchester derby, Ten Hag explained that he felt Shaw was his best match-up to counter Premier League top goalscorer Erling Haaland.
He explained: “It was a big decision but I think when you analyse the profile of Haaland and the combination with Bruyne it was also the right decision because Luke has the physical power to compete with them and also has the tactical view to make the right decision and technical skills to play in that position.”
This is high praise, and Shaw proved him right, with Haaland failing to land a shot on target. United won the game 2-1 thanks to a late Marcus Rashford winner.
Haaland has scored 21 Premier League goals this season, averaging unprecedented 1.35 goals per game, including a hat-trick in his previous match with Manchester United. But at the weekend he was shut out entirely.
Shaw did not have the best start to the season under Erik ten Hag, dropped after the Brentford defeat, but has re-established himself as a key player, on and off the pitch.
Ten Hag said: “I don’t mean only as a team player, he’s a leader. He’s showed a lot of leadership capacities — he’s the example at this moment — and with his skills and with his physical power he brings a lot to the team. But now also with his mentality. He’s an example of how to win big games. I’m really happy with his development.
“I think it’s been huge either at centre-half or left full-back, he’s a great player and a great personality for the dressing room.”
The manager is open to using Shaw at centre-back or left-back dependent on the opponent, and says he is glad to have the option.
He described Shaw’s flexibility as a ‘weapon’ at his disposal when planning ahead tactically.
“It’s a tactical choice and we can see from game to game what we need. And I think we have more players in our squad who have the capacity to be multi-functional and we can use that as a weapon in games.”
United have more centre-back options than left-back, so it could be expected that the England international will spend more time in his more regular role, but given the importance of the game Shaw just played in, centre-back could be a fairly frequent position for him going forward.
In Ten Hag’s previous job at Ajax he switched Daley Blind between the two roles, while Jurrien Timber also featured at right-back at times. The manager likes to have tactical flexibility, and Shaw certainly provides this.
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