It goes without saying that Manchester United players are under intense pressure to wash off the stench of a disastrous 2024/25 season, but for two, the intensity is ramped up further.
After a season that saw the team finish trophyless and in 15th position in the Premier League, the safe bet is that Man Utd can only go up from here.
However, it can’t be taken for granted, and every player in the Man Utd squad will have something to prove, as youngsters behind them are itching for a breakout.
For two players in the squad, however, the pressure doesn’t just limit itself to what happens at Old Trafford in 2025/26. Their top-level careers could well be on the line.
Manchester United players look on in disappointing after Europa League final
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Crucial season for Mason Mount and Luke Shaw
The Man Utd career for one has had more speed bumps than acceleration, while the other’s is yet to truly take off the ground.
Mason Mount and Luke Shaw are in a unique position at Man Utd where they are borderline unsellable, but at the same time, viewed as valuable by Ruben Amorim.
The problem with both is their availability, and to an extent, for Mount, his tactical suitability as well.
Between them, they made a combined 23 Premier League appearances last season, totalling less than 1000 minutes.
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That is an abominable return, and while it must be noted that no player gets injured willingly, the club is a business, and underachievers will always be cut.
Both Mount and Shaw have shown the mentality to want to come back and contribute, however, and the 2025/26 season will be the judgement one for them.
It will be Mount’s third at United, a time when Omar Berrada starts judging players, and Shaw has been on borrowed time since his contract extension anyway.
Thankfully, they have an extra motivation to turn a corner this season.
Mount and Shaw’s extra motivation
Man Utd fans would ideally prefer that playing for United is enough motivation for these players to be at their physical and mental best.
However, the lure of playing a tournament that comes once every four years and offers a shot at immortality is a pretty good addition on top.
That is the situation facing Mount and Shaw, who would want to be in contention to make the England squad for the World Cup next summer.
Mount has been a favourite of Thomas Tuchel since his Chelsea days, while England don’t quite have a player like Shaw despite his erratic availability.
It is pretty nailed-on that if either performs like their peaks dictate, then they will be no-brainer inclusions in the starting XI of England, let alone selected for the squad.
The stars are aligning for both to shake off the malaise surrounding their careers. It either ends in glory and a return to the national team for the World Cup, or it ends in despair, with both names on the chopping block next summer.