This Manchester United Defender Could Be KEY For Erik Ten Hag's Success

Manchester United are looking ahead to next season under new manager Erik ten Hag after an awful campaign last year which ended in their lowest ever points total in Premier League history.

The Dutchman came into the club late last month after a successful year with Ajax where they won the Eredivisie and demonstrated some of their beautiful football in the Champions League before their shock round-of-16 exit.

While Ten Hag agrees that United need fresh blood in the squad ahead of the next Premier League campaign, he also believes that there is potential in some of the underperforming players in the squad, as reported by Times Sport.

One of those individuals could be Jadon Sancho, who had a difficult debut year at Old Trafford after signing from Borussia Dortmund last August.

Another could be Luke Shaw, who was labelled by United supporters as one of the best left-back's in the country the season prior to last.

He had an incredible year under Ole Gunnar Solskjær then, and followed it up with some superb performances for Gareth Southgate's England in Euro 2020.

He was a major player in their route to the final and scored against Italy in that game before the Three Lions went onto lose on penalties.

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Since then though, in a struggling team, Shaw's skillset has been limited and injury problems have crept in after he was so heavily relied on in 2020/21.

Under Ten Hag, he could however be a key player for United in redefining the system and football that is played at Old Trafford.

Shaw's progressive skills

Shaw's regular absences last season showed United supporters just how important he was to the side, especially in the season prior.

Alex Telles is not a good progressor of the ball and his link-up play is under-par. The Reds used to build so easily on that left side, but it was rarely the case while the Brazilian was a regular in the team.

The Englishman's comfortability in possession and his press resistance are two reasons why he can be such a useful tool when looking to build the play. He has a consistent first touch and regularly makes the correct passing choice when he receives the ball.

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His stocky frame, which was often mocked by supporters before his United revival, is another weapon as he can shield the ball from oncoming opponents as he looks to retain possession.

Ten Hag will want United to play from the back, and move the ball through the thirds. Shaw will be able to be a huge help in this department through his link-up play, comfort in possession, but also through his parading runs.

Once space opens up, the left-back can drive with power and precision into the oppositions half, and sometimes towards their area. This was best seen for his goal against Manchester City at the Etihad in 2020/21.

A creative threat from the left

Another key aspect that Shaw will bring to the side is creativity, something that United greatly missed while he was absent last season.

Although he was not as impressive as he was in the previous campaign, Shaw still averaged 3.6 shot-creating actions per 90 in the Premier League last term, according to FBRef.

This metric describes the two prior actions to a shot in game, which helps provide clarity to the offensive output from a player. Shaw's average bettered City's Joao Cancelo (2.87) and Liverpool's Andy Robertson (3.37) despite both of them playing in far superior teams. Telles averaged just 2.44 per game.

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United are without a right-back who can be a creative threat going forward, so Luke Shaw's ability to not only be a great progressor, but also an impressive creator in the final third, will be great news for Ten Hag.

Is there any worries?

Unfortunately, there will always be question marks over whether Shaw can remain fit across an entire campaign. His horrible injury troubles in his early United career almost ruined it, but he showed great determination to show his true qualities over the last three years.

But he also experienced problems last term, missing half of the campaign with different injuries. It could be down to the lack of rotation that he experienced under Solskjær, who trusted him so much. Yet, he will need to prove his ability to maintain fitness if he's going to truly be a key member for Ten Hag.

Some supporters have questioned his defensive abilities when he has played this season, but this is not as much of an issue as it's been made out to be.

Most of the situations where he was exploited last season were usually down to the overall poor defensive structure of the team, usually in defensive transitions, but he also did make some questionable decisions in these moments which did not help his cause.

Under an improved system, with a new defensive midfielder (hopefully) these situations will occur less and less. After all, we don't often see Cancelo or Robertson in the kind of situations that the United left back needed to deal with last year.

He most certainly will need to improve on his performances of last season, but his overall skillset will suit Ten Hag's vision nicely, and he could be a key member for the Dutchman as he looks to turn things around at Old Trafford.