Mikel Arteta refashioned Oleksandr Zinchenko into a full-time left-back. Pep Guardiola is doing the same with Rico Lewis and the fashion of inverted fullbacks is never going away. However, as crucial as those players are to their sides, Luke Shaw is a player who is keeping the flag flying high for the traditional overlapping fullback at Manchester United.
Perhaps due to Manchester United’s underperformance, or due to Shaw’s own stop-start career due to injuries, there’s a tendency to leave him out when the debate rages on about the best left-back in the country.
The measure of a player’s quality can be seen from the fact that how the team performs with or without him. Even City, as well-oiled as they are, look half the team when Rodri is not there.
For United, that player is remarkably a left-back in Luke Shaw.
So, why is Luke Shaw the most crucial left-back to his side in the Premier League? We take a look at his unique skillset that nobody else in the team brings and not many do in the league either-
Luke Shaw: Thrust with the ball
There are many fullbacks whose best trait is to overlap their winger who has cut inside and hit the ball into the box first-time. While that skillset is undoubtedly important to create overloads in wide areas and fashion chances while pushing the opposition back, Luke Shaw has levelled up on that skill.
Not only is he deadly on the overlap, he is capable of bringing the ball to that point by himself. In simpler words, he is an elite ball-carrier in a squad that often suffers from a lack of creativity against deep blocks. Shaw’s runs with the ball, either by running with it himself or by probing through progressive passes is something no other defender in the United squad is capable of.
Lisandro Martinez offers similar qualities at centre-back and it is painfully obvious to people who have watched Erik ten Hag’s side how much they miss Shaw and Martinez when they’re not present.
In short, Shaw is an overlapping fullback who is also a one-man overlapping threat. That makes him a priceless commodity in today’s tactical landscape where fullback rules are so demanding.
Luke Shaw: Lynchpin of buildup play
We discussed how deadly Shaw is in the final third but he is also the main reason which allows Erik ten Hag to play the way he prefers. In a team that is extremely prone to high pressing in their own defensive third, Shaw is a release valve.
Andre Onana’s arrival hasn’t really fixed the problem to the extent Ten Hag would’ve thought because of the Cameroonian’s form. Raphael Varane is capable of good passing from the deep but can be hurried under pressure. Harry Maguire is good at carrying the ball up the pitch but panics when pressed coherently. The same is true for Victor Lindelof.
Effectively, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw allow United to bait the press and then play through it, a staple of every elite team these days. The emergence of Kobbie Mainoo has released the pressure of responsibilities somewhat as he is press-resistant too, but there’s no other fullback in the United squad who is as secure and smart with the ball as Shaw.
Luke Shaw & Passing angles
It’s no coincidence that Martinez and Shaw are getting mentioned together in this piece quite a few times already. It becomes clearer why Shaw is preferred as a centre-back in the Argentine’s absence by Ten Hag, even over natural centre-backs sometimes.
That is because Shaw is the only left-footed player in the defence who also has the positional nous and anticipation to play in the middle of the defence.
Shaw’s left foot opens up more natural passing angles while receiving the ball from a left-sided centre-back. Moreover, he can get to the end of through balls on the overlap in his stride instead of pausing to check back on his stronger foot. Having a left-sided centre-back on the left and a right-footed one on the right opens up the pitch more naturally, allowing players to play a quick one-touch passing game.
The byproduct of such freedom is the team becoming more press-resistant and difficult to defend as they stretch the play. Luke Shaw makes that happen at Old Trafford.
Combative with control
Since Sir Alex left United, the club has had two types of players but rarely a mixture of both. Either they personify passion and desire, coupled with the want to play for the club but lacking in talent to become a first-team fixture, or they are world-class stars whose commitment if perenially in doubt.
Luke Shaw is the rare mixture. Shaw puts his heart and soul on the pitch every time he plays. He is near the top of the list among United players when it comes to distance covered per game and sometimes almost acts as a one-man flank if Rashford is having an off day.
Coupled with that desire, commitment, and combative personality is the control. Shaw is not an aimless runner. He smartly positions himself to complete interceptions, shepherds the attackers away from goal instead of going ballistic in tackles, and is deceptively tall which enables him to dominate aerially.
In conclusion, he is the ideal mixture of a player who’s combative with control, a priceless commodity for this United side.
