Luke Shaw says Man Utd could have had ‘best midfielder in the world’ but he didn’t reach his best

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Man Utd have had a lot of “what if” stories when it comes to talent, but Luke Shaw thinks one was destined to be the best in the world.

Fairly or unfairly, Man Utd have gained a bit of a reputation for being a club where the talent feels shackled.

Part of that is mentality, since playing for United requires a different level of steeliness, but some blame also goes to the players.

Luke Shaw thinks one of these “what if” stories is the biggest, since he had the potential to be the “best midfielder in the world”.

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Luke Shaw laments Paul Pogba’s Man Utd spell

Much has been written about Paul Pogba and how he failed to capture the true essence of his ability at Old Trafford.

When he was at his best, Pogba was a force of nature, combining technical excellence that should have been illegal with the physical specimen that he was.

Unfortunately, “at his best” was not a regular occurrence for him, something he also accepted about himself in a recent interview.

Shaw played with Pogba under multiple managers, and in a recent interview with the Man Utd YouTube channel, said the Frenchman had the ability to be the best in the world.

He said: “It’s a shame [Pogba] didn’t reach his maximum ability here. He touched on it a little bit. He had everything to be the best midfielder in the world.

“He was so good. For talent, he was one of the best I’ve ever played with. He was scary good. He could do everything. I just wish it had worked out better. Sometimes, things are just not meant to be.”

Pogba is a case study for Man Utd transfers

Pogba didn’t walk into the most settled environment at United because he had a bust-up with Jose Mourinho after a good first season.

However, it’s hard to see him as purely a victim of circumstances when he tried to leave United even under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who built the team around him.

His injuries, noises behind the scenes, and the way he talked about the club after he left via his agent all left a sour taste in the mouths of Man Utd fans.

In many ways, he has become the case study for Man Utd’s transfers as someone who was uniquely talented, but was never going to survive under the scrutiny of Old Trafford.

United need characters as much as they need precocious geniuses, and having too much of either at the cost of the other can lead to failure.

Pogba told United to stop chasing the biggest name, and go for the biggest characters instead, even if the quality is sacrificed a bit in the process.