Luke Shaw’s first interview as Man Utd player included two failed predictions, and one sign Ruben Amorim could use

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Luke Shaw is Manchester United’s longest serving player, joining the Red Devils in 2014 from Southampton.

Over the past 11 years, Luke Shaw has seen it all at Manchester United, except the one thing he wants most, a Premier League winners’ medal.

When Shaw joined United, it was in the wake of David Moyes’ destructive one season in charge as Sir Alex Ferguson’s chosen replacement.

United hoped Louis van Gaal could provide a hard reset, and Shaw was one of several signings made that summer that the club hoped would be able to get the club back on track.

Louis van Gaal ended up lasting only two seasons at the club, with Shaw going on to play under Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick, Erik ten Hag and now Ruben Amorim.

• READ MORE: Manchester United manager history, trophies won, win percentage

Luke Shaw had two hopes in first Man Utd interview

Luke Shaw spoke with high hopes when he was introduced as a Manchester United player back in July 2014.

Shaw, 18 at the time, joined from Southampton for £27 million. He was selected for the 2014 World Cup squad, amid projections he would become a future star.

In Shaw’s first Manchester United interview, he was asked about Louis van Gaal, and expressed his excitement about playing for an attacking manager.

Shaw said: “Very excited. I’ve seen how he plays out in the World Cup. Obviously, I’ve been out there, so I’ve been watching the games. And I know he likes a sort of an attacking game. That’s how I sort of present my my game. So it’s something that I’m looking forward to.”

Manchester United fans and Luke Shaw ended up disappointed by Louis van Gaal’s dour defensive football.

BBC Sport reported how Van Gaal’s United played more defensive passes than any other Premier League team, and scored only 49 league goals in the 2015/16 season despite possessing an impressive array of attacking players.

Shaw missed the majority of that season after sustaining a serious leg break in a Champions League game against PSV. It led to an ongoing battle with injuries, that has seen Shaw overtaken in terms of appearances by Bruno Fernandes, who joined the club in 2020.

Another hope expressed by Luke Shaw in his first Manchester United interview was that he would get to work with club legend Patrice Evra.

Shaw said: “I’m really excited to be working working with him. He’s been one of the best left backs in the league for the last few years now, and it’s something that I’m looking forward to, to be training with him and and hopefully I can learn a lot.”

Louis van Gaal had other ideas, with Patrice Evra sold to Juventus three weeks later for just £1.2 million.

Luke Shaw was asked about wing-back suitability

In his first Manchester United interview, Luke Shaw was asked if he would be suitable to playing in the wing-back role.

Shaw had a strong response, claiming: “Yeah, very I think, I think that’s my main attribute so much in my game. But as a fullback, you’ve obviously got to defend as well. But like you said, he likes to play attacking full backs, and that’s something I love doing.”

11 years on, Luke Shaw is playing under another head coach who operates a wing-back system, although Ruben Amorim has not yet utilised him in this role.

Amorim has deployed Shaw at centre-back, an experiment first trialed by Solskjaer and then Ten Hag, with Patrick Dorgu preferred at wing-back.

Shaw’s game has changed over the past decade, but he still possesses attacking qualities that can benefit United if he gets another chance to operate at wing-back, with the defender recently admitting he misses his preferred role.