Luke Shaw admits he accepts losing Man Utd place to Tyrell Malacia | OneFootball

The last 12 months have been quite the comedown for Luke Shaw, who was Manchester United and England’s undisputed first-choice left-back at this point last year.

At that time, he had just enjoyed a stellar 2020/21 season, helping England to the EURO 2020 final, in which he scored the opening goal.

Since then, he is one of several United players to experience an alarming drop in form and that has ultimately seen him lose his place at club level, with summer signing Tyrell Malacia starting each of the last four Premier League games.

He is still, however, a regular for his country and after scoring England’s first goal in a remarkable 3-3 draw with Germany, the 27-year-old admitted he accepts losing his place at Old Trafford due to his form.

Speaking to talkSPORT, via the official Manchester United website, Shaw admitted that he would ideally want to play more before the World Cup kicks off in November.

“It’s what everyone wants. I think Erik ten Hag, the boss, he knows my qualities. He knows what I am capable of and we’ve had chats,” Shaw said.

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“It’s understandable that, and I even agree, the start of the season wasn’t good enough and he had to make changes. And I fully accept that, I accepted it.

“The only thing I can do is train hard and wait for my opportunities, whether that’s in the cup games or the Premier League. Whatever I play in, I just have to be ready and play at the standard I should be at.”

SN’s verdict… Shaw has less than a year left on his current United contract and at 27, it’s likely that his next deal will be the final big one of his career. As things stand, he has a long way to go before Ten Hag considers dropping Malacia.

Malacia has exceeded all expectations since joining the club this summer and you can definitely tell that taking part in pre-season has helped.

Shaw’s positive performances for England will most likely be enough for him to make the England squad for the World Cup but the possibility of an Old Trafford departure is increasing with each passing week.