Jose Mourinho has time and again taken a dig at Luke Shaw over the past month, so much so that the England international had to come out and ask his former boss to calm down.
Under Mourinho, Luke Shaw was a very average player but in the past year, the left-back has improved in leaps and bounds and it’s safe to say he is one of the best full-backs in European football right now.
But the current Roma boss has spared no opportunity to take cheeky digs at the Manchester United defender, despite him playing top-class football for the national side during the European Championship.
Now finally Jose Mourinho has chosen to lay off the past demons by admitting that Luke Shaw has turned into a wonderful left-back and that he might have been too harsh on him.
He told talkSPORT: “Because people think I don’t like Luke Shaw, I have to say, amazing tournament. A fantastic final.
“No defensive mistakes. Very solid. On top of that he improved and improved, and improved.
“He scored a goal that doesn’t mean much now but for him, for his career, for the way he grew up, very good. Very good Luke Shaw.
“I always tried to find what I considered to be the weakness of the player and sometimes I’m successful, other times I’m not. Other times I can create empathy with the player and get the best out of them.
“Other times the best way to get the best out of them is not to create empathy and is to try to to create some friction and to put pressure on the player.
“Maybe I was too harsh with him and he was not ready for that. The injury was such an incredible injury but I think in this moment where the country looks to him, and deservedly, as a left-back for the national team.
Luke Shaw created 101 chances in just 48 starts for #mufc & England this season — leading all defenders & ranking 8th amongst all players in Europe. pic.twitter.com/jxbJF1LFS5
— Robbo (@utdrobbo) July 12, 2021
“From my side, I can only say congratulations to him because he did it by himself. For sure with the help and support of his coaches in the club and in the national team.
“I still think that he has more to give because his potential is good and now he is defending well, he knows how to defend space inside which was a weakness for him.
“His defence transition when he goes forward and the team loses the ball, his recovery back, he shows a much better intensity.
“Going forward he is more confident, better crosses.”
Luke Shaw scored England’s only goal in the final and there’s no doubt the Man United man was one of the first names on Southgate’s team sheets all throughout the Euros.
It seemed like Jose Mourinho just could not digest the fact that a player whom he had branded as a failure has now managed to turn around his career. But, ultimately the manager has understood there’s not much left to criticize about Luke Shaw right now.
