Erik ten Hag claims Luke Shaw is ‘best left back in the world’ but one thing will always hold him back

Manchester United and England defender Luke Shaw is the ‘best left-back in the world’, according to Erik ten Hag.

The Dutch boss made the bold claim ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final against Man City – which is LIVE on talkSPORT, and a game Shaw will likely miss after another injury-plagued campaign.

Shaw has been out since February with a muscle issue, having made just 15 appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils this season.

It’s been a common theme of the defender’s ten-year spell at Old Trafford, having missed a staggering 264 games through various injury problems since his £30million transfer – a world-record fee for a teenager at the time – from Southampton.

That’s slightly less than the number of matches he has actually played in a decade as a United player – 275.

Shaw’s injury issues have been a huge shame, given how clearly highly-rated he is by his coaches.

Gareth Southgate has included the 28-year-old in his provisional Euro 2024 squad despite missing the majority of the season, explaining the Three Lions staff are giving him more time to get back to full fitness in time for the tournament this summer as he is by far the best option at left-back.

Ten Hag agrees, but the Man United boss admits Shaw will unlikely be able to play an entire season in his career ever again due to the fractured leg he suffered early in his Red Devils career – with the player later admitting he ‘nearly lost’ his leg due to complications.

Speaking to Dutch outlet Vi.NL, Ten Hag said: “Luke Shaw is the best left back in the world. 

“This guy is so good. But he has suffered a horrible injury at the start of his career and because of this he will never be able to play 60 games per season.”

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Ten Hag also bemoaned his luck this season, having lost second-choice left-back Tyrell Malacia to injury before the season kicked off.

“Tyrell Malacia didn’t play a single minute of football this season,” added the boss.

“In fact, he didn’t even spend a single moment out on the training pitch. We signed him as our back-up for Luke Shaw.”

The praise from Ten hag will be a boost for Shaw as he aims to be fit for England’s Euros campaign, particularly following criticism from former United boss Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho publicly shamed Shaw more than once during his spell in charge at Old Trafford, but later admitted to talkSPORT he was too harsh on the young defender, explaining that he did it to help him respond on the field and get back to his best.

“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,’ Mourinho explained to talkSPORT in 2021, after Shaw’s key role in England’s run to the Euro 2020 final.

“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.”

Man City vs Man United in the FA Cup final is live on talkSPORT on Saturday 25 May from 3pm.