Ruben Amorim has ruffled a few feathers with his latest media interaction, but there is good news for one player among the noise as well.
The trademark honesty of Ruben Amorim took a turn for the cynical recently when he effectively threw Man Utd’s academy players under the bus to justify his stance on Kobbie Mainoo.
The “justification”, if one can call it that, is unlikely to go down well with fans, but at least he accompanied it with some good news for one player.
Ruben Amorim believes Harry Amass and Chido Obi would not make an impact in the Man Utd first team 🤔
What do you think of Amorim’s comments? Is he making a good point, or is he losing it?
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He says he has one player in the Man Utd squad who is finally looking motivated, and in a change of fortunes, is ‘no longer a concern’.
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Ruben Amorim praises Luke Shaw turnaround
Luke Shaw has been an ever-present player in the first XI this season, which in itself is a big bonus for Man Utd, who have seen his injured side more often than not.
Other than the odd bad game, he has played well in those regular minutes, too, which has made it easy for Amorim to navigate Lisandro Martinez’s absence.
Amorim recently said Shaw is a “world-class” player, but he had to be careful with his minutes when he arrived at Old Trafford.
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Now that Shaw is getting a consistent run of games without getting injured, the Man Utd manager has given him his flowers.
He said in a press conference: “I think the position [change to centre-back has helped him]. We are taking care of his body now. He’s not a concern. He feels motivated. Sometimes it’s just one season that you feel better, understand your body better. He is in a good moment.”
Man Utd need to see more from Shaw
It is a pure fact that Shaw has been one of United’s better players this season, but United should not get carried away with it.
For starters, this is a unique season in the club’s history as they are without any European football, so the match load for Shaw is naturally less.
Secondly, Shaw played out of his skin the last time his contract was nearly up, so there is a hint of “Marcus Rashford syndrome” here, where a player finds form when his contract is about to expire.
Shaw’s contract expires in 2027, so he will have entered the last 12 months of it next summer, but United must not panic.
He needs to show United that he can keep this level of form and availability in a season with European football, and with the player turning 31 next July, a pay cut should still be non-negotiable.
It’s good that he’s ‘no longer a concern’, but that can’t be the bar for a player to stay at Man Utd.
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