Ruben Amorim witnessed from the touchline in the 2024-25 season one of his first-team Manchester United players looking like a shadow of his former self.
Manchester United signed off their disappointing campaign in May and the Red Devils finished in an embarrassing 15th place in the Premier League table.
The Red Devils’ league standing last season was United’s worst finish in the Premier League era and Ruben Amorim oversaw a tough start to life at Old Trafford.
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Amorim, who arrived at Old Trafford from Sporting CP last November, also missed out on securing his first piece of major silverware as United manager last season.
United reached the 2025 Europa League final in May and the Red Devils faced fellow Premier League side Tottenham in an all-English showdown in Spain.
Spurs came out on top against United and Tottenham lifted the Europa League trophy after clinching a 1-0 win at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao.
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Victor Lindelof of Manchester United applauds the fans at the end of the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Aston Villa FC at Old Trafford on May 25, 2025, in Manchester, United Kingdom.
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Ruben Amorim could see Luke Shaw’s struggles deeply exposed in the Man Utd star’s Europa League final performance vs Tottenham
Luke Shaw started the 2025 Europa League final and the England international saw out the full 90 minutes of Manchester United’s 1-0 defeat to Tottenham last month.
Ruben Amorim deployed the 29-year-old United defender as the left-sided centre-back in his three-man backline against Spurs at the San Mames Stadium.
Brennan Johnson’s opener in the first half for Tottenham proved enough to be the difference-maker between United and Spurs in the Europa League encounter.
Shaw failed to properly track Brennan Johnson in the build-up to Tottenham’s winner and he appeared to help the ball bundle past a scrambling Andre Onana.
United were sloppy to let Pape Matar Sarr cross the ball into a dangerous position in the first place and Shaw was equally as switched off in dealing with Johnson.
Sky Sports reported that a “sharper” version of the England left-back might “have fared better” and United missed the injured Lisandro Martinez in “that position.”
Shaw looked off pace during the Europa League final and it felt for United fans that ‘Father Time’ was knocking on the door of his playing spell at Old Trafford.
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Ruben Amorim left with a big decision over Man Utd star Luke Shaw ahead of the 2025-26 Premier League season at Old Trafford
Luke Shaw was limited to only 12 matches in the 2024-25 season across all competitions after another injury-hit campaign at Old Trafford.
The former Southampton star has impressed at times when he has been in form for United and managed to play a consistent run of matches for the Red Devils.
However, Shaw’s spell has not been the same since he suffered a double fracture in his right leg in United’s 2-1 Champions League loss to PSV Eindhoven in 2015.
The United defender is under contract until 2027 and Amorim could take him on the pre-season tour this summer for a further assessment of the player’s ability.
Amorim could be forced to make the major call to find a way to offload Shaw if the United star can no longer play with the intensity that he demands from his players.
Shaw’s injury record at United has haunted him and the prolonged periods on the sidelines might be why Father Time came sooner than expected for his time at Old Trafford.