TalkSport pundit Carlton Palmer has slammed "poor" Manchester United defender Luke Shaw, claiming that Erik ten Hag will look to replace him in the summer.
What's the latest on Luke Shaw and Manchester United?
It's safe to say the left-back didn't have the best of time earlier this week when he lined up for England in their Euro 2024 qualifying match against Italy.
Indeed, while his teammates managed to pick up a 2-1 win thanks to goals from Declan Rice and Harry Kane, they had to finish the last 10 minutes of the match a player down after Shaw picked up two bookings in as many minutes.
And despite Shaw – who earns a reported £150,000 a week – being a regular under Ten Hag this term having started 21 Premier League games, Palmer seems to think he'll be less relied upon in the future.
Speaking on TalkSport, the pundit said: “The one player I want to bring up, though, I've got to be honest with you – I don't know how Luke Shaw gets away with it. I really don't.
"I think he's a poor, poor defender. I think he's had a decent season at Manchester United, but I think he's a poor defender.
"Every time he comes up and is asked a question about defending, he can't, he fails. How he doesn't get sent off more often, I don't know.
"And I hear all the arguments about Trent Alexander [Arnold], and I see that he has some defensive frailties, but I think he's a terrific player and offers a lot going forward.
Jim White then butted in saying: "But it looks like Ten Hag swears by him?"
Palmer replied: “No, Ten Hag hasn't got any other alternatives at the moment. I think next season when they will be genuinely going to have a tilt to the title, I think they'll have brought in another left-back."
Why would Man Utd want to sell Luke Shaw?
Seeing as Ten Hag made Tyrell Malacia his first-ever Man Utd signing – joining in a £14.7m deal from Feyenoord – Shaw must have impressed on the training pitch to retain his spot as the club's first-choice left-back.
What's more, the 27-year-old Englishman has shown his defensive qualities by filling in at centre-back for the Red Devils in recent times, with Shaw starting four of the last 11 league games in that position and winning all of those games.
With all that in mind, it's frankly ridiculous to say that Shaw only plays at Man Utd as Ten Hag doesn't have any other options within the squad.
In general, Palmer's opinion seems to be based on the brief two-minute spell he had for England against Italy where the defender was rather poor. Other than that, though, his argument seems pretty baseless.
