When Alex Telles signed for Manchester United in October, many fans thought he did so as a replacement for Luke Shaw. The English left-back joined the club from Southampton in 2014 as the world’s most expensive teenager, but had failed to nail down a spot under both Louis van Gaal and José Mourinho before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came in. The Norwegian picked Shaw more regularly and Shaw’s form improved at the end of 2018/19 which saw him earn United’s Players’ Player of the Year award. 2019/20 proved tougher as Shaw lost his place to Brandon Williams at times and didn’t offer the attacking impetus many fans wanted from their left-back, especially given Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s perceived attacking struggles on the opposite wing. Since Telles’ arrival, however, Shaw has been superb. He’s been solid defensively, but the huge improvement has been his increased attacking contribution. This piece will take an analytical look at how Shaw has improved statistically, tactically and technically.
Man-management matters
Personal relationships are often underrated in terms of player development and performance. Peope are social beings and as such, relationships are important. In Shaw’s case, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has evidently played a big part in turning Shaw’s career around. Last year, Shaw told manutd.com about his manager’s influence:
“He’s (Solskjaer) helped me a lot on the pitch, but more so he’s been one of the biggest influences off the pitch too, with the way he handles players. He knows what players need. I had a difficult couple of years before he came in; I think maybe he realised that and knew what I needed. He’s really helped me off the pitch. He obviously believes in me, he tells me that. That’s the confidence you need as a player: to have the manager believe in you.”
Last month, Solskjaer also spoke about Shaw’s upturn in form:
“Luke has immense quality. You saw the few times against Liverpool when he takes the ball and drives forward. It’s something that I’ve pushed him to do more, because we know he can do it. He’s mentally very good at the moment. He’s become a dad, he’s physically very good and his fitness is so much better. When you have the talent of Luke, when that fitness and mental bit is sorted, you’re always going to get good performances. Luke’s a boy I enjoy talking to, I enjoy trying to help him, he wants to be better. It was about getting him to enjoy his football.”
It seems obvious, then, that psychology and man-management have been crucial aspects of Shaw’s return to form. After being publically ridiculed and criticised by Mourinho, Shaw has very obviously taken to what we must assume is Solskjaer’s softer touch. Given Shaw’s current form, it has been a stroke of genius on the manager’s part.
Shaw’s statistical surge
The stats don’t lie. Rather, they exemplify Shaw’s improvement. He has not only undergone a staggering attacking improvement, but is also better defensively. For example, Shaw now wins 1.81 tackles per 90 compared to 1.24 last season. Additionally, he is dribbled past less (0.77 vs 1.04 last season) and is involved in more successful pressures (4.97 per 90, compared to 4.04 last season), although he makes less interceptions than last season (0.58 this term vs 0.78 in 2019/20).
Going forward, Shaw contributed no goals and no assists for United in the Premier League last season. That simply isn’t good enough for a full-back in a team that finished third. This term, however, Shaw has improved in every attacking metric. His expected assists score per 90 minutes is 0.19, the highest of his career, and he has already provided three assists in the league, closing in on his all time best total of four in 2018/19.
The biggest change can be seen in the number of crosses he puts in. After averaging 1.25 in 2018/19 and 1.24 in 2019/20, Shaw now makes 3.16 crosses per game. That is almost (I’m stretching the meaning of almost here, I know) three times as many crosses as previous seasons. What’s perhaps most impressive is that he’s not only making more crosses, they’re also more successful, with a success rate of 33% this season. In 2018/19, that figure was 27% and in 2019/20, it was 24%. By way of comparison, Andrew Robertson’s crossing success rate is 22% this season.
His shot creating action score is also staggering compared to previous seasons; Shaw now creates 3.74 shots per game compared to a previous best of 2.33 (2018/19). He also makes more key passes than ever before (2.19 this season compared to 1.15 in 2018/19). Shaw’s attacking importance for United is highlighted by the facts that only Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford has recorded more assists, only Fernandes and Mata have better scores of expected assists per 90 minutes and that only Fernandes has recorded more key passes. In short, Shaw is one of United’s most important creators.
I tweeted the other night about Shaw’s much-improved crossing ability. Instead of firing hard crosses driven along the ground using his laces, Shaw has started to bend crosses into the box using the inside of his foot much in the same way United legend Ryan Giggs used to.
I can definitely live with Luke Shaw turning into Ryan Giggs going forward. Insane improvement in terms of crossing in recent months. Super delivery hit with both pace and precision — David Selini (@DaveSelini) February 2, 2021
This is likely a result of United signing Cavani, a player who thrives when attacking crosses and probably demands them being put in, but this is certainly also the result of Shaw working on his crossing technique. United have lacked quality crossing ever since Giggs retired, so Shaw’s development is very welcome for United’s sake. With a good crosser on the left wing, opposition teams will have to worry about United’s threat from central combinations as well as from wide areas. That will only help United going forward and make them a more difficult team to defend against.
For Shaw, this new-found crossing ability is a great asset to his already strong ability to fire early passes into the space just in front of the defensive line before they are supported by the midfielders. It makes him a more rounded attacking full-back, and it gives United another weapon. In fact, Solskjaer has even made Shaw United’s set-piece taker, even when Fernandes is on the pitch.
The two types of pass/cross Shaw specialises in making.
Tactical changes
There’s been a big tactical shift in terms of Shaw’s role in recent seasons. When Solskjaer first came in, Shaw often played narrow on the left as United clustered that side. They did so by Martial staying wide left, Shaw tucking in and with Pogba and Matić moving across. United then tried to lure the opposition across to that side playing a lot of short passes (to which Shaw was important) before switching sides to a much more aggressively positioned right-back in the form of Ashley Young.
In 2018/19, Shaw often played in a narrow role as United clustered their left, looking to combine in tight areas with the likes of Shaw, Pogba, Matić and Martial.
Now, Shaw plays much higher and wider as the left winger more often than not moves inside towards the half-space, leaving the flank open for him to attack. Therefore, it has been important that Shaw’s improved his crossing ability to take advantage of the much more advanced position he now plays in, where it is crucial that he can provide an attacking threat.
Back then, Shaw averaged 57.5 passes per game in 2018/19 and 58.1 in 2019/20. This season, that figure is down to 53.9 passes per game. That change might seem small, but it undeniably tells us that Shaw is less involved than previously. Furthermore, Shaw’s completion rate is down to 80% from 86.5% last year and 83% in 2018/19. That again indicates that Shaw plays a different role where he naturally attempts more difficult passes, which results in his completion rate dropping. Shaw is less involved in build-up play and maintaining possession, and is rather playing higher, wider and in a more progressive fashion.
Against Southampton, Shaw played wider on the left with Rashford tucking inside more, opening up more crossing opportunities for the left-back.
Conclusion
All in all, Luke Shaw is a more complete, rounded full-back in 2021 than he was previously. He is better defensively, more consistent in his performances and has improved his attacking qualities to become one of United’s most creative players. Add the fact that he also played at left centre-back in a back-three a few times in the last two seasons and you understand that Shaw is a more complete player now than before Solskjaer inherited him. The improvement in his performances is clear to see, and it won’t probably be long before he’s given a chance to add to his eight caps for his country. He has without doubt earned it as he has, with the support of his manager, turned his career around to truly become one of the finest full-backs in European football right now.
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