Jose Mourinho has heaped praise on Luke Shaw‘s recent resurgence at Manchester United and insisted he would receive a new contract as a result.
The Englishman, having attracted criticism from the 55-year-old back in April, spent the first few months of the campaign unable to even claim a spot on the bench.
Many believed Shaw’s Man United career was over ahead of the January transfer window but he has asserted himself as a regular presence in the side since impressing against CSKA Moscow in December.
And Mourinho, speaking ahead of his side’s trip to Newcastle United on Sunday, noted that the Englishman’s recent displays have merited a new deal at Old Trafford.
“Luke is not about changing my mind, it’s just the evolution or no evolution of his potential,” he said.
“It’s just about that. I know Shaw since he arrived in the Premier /League with Southampton and know his potential and quality.
“Could he come in my direction, the way I like my players to be not just on the pitch but during the training week, and he made a big effort.
“He’s been free of minor injuries for a few months which sometimes stops the evolution and I’m really happy. The natural consequence of it is that he will have his contract and he will be a United player for years.”
Shaw’s predicament at United looked so gloomy not because he wasn’t getting minutes in the team per se, but rather that he wasn’t getting minutes because of what was a strictly attitudinal problem.
The chasm between Mourinho and Shaw’s mental approach appeared to be insurmountable – so much so that the former even insisted Shaw needs to play with his manager’s brain at one point.
Shifting your mental state is harder than any tactical or physical changes you make to your approach on the pitch but Shaw, through nothing more than raw perseverance, has done exactly that and saved his United career from what looked like certain doom in the process.