Luke Shaw is on course to start every Premier League game this season and is proving he can still have an impact at Man Utd.
Luke Shaw
Luke Shaw has had an excellent season for Manchester United
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For a player who had started 16 Premier League games in the last two seasons, Luke Shaw's current run is something of a pleasant surprise, for both the man himself and for Manchester United.
The 30-year-old is the only United player to have started every Premier League game this season, a run of 31 consecutive starts by far the longest since he joined the club from Southampton for £30million a dozen years ago.
Shaw's time at Old Trafford has been plagued by injuries, with the double leg break he suffered in a game against PSV Eindhoven in September 2015 the beginning of a spell of rotten luck and misfortune.
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No player wants to be injured and Shaw has suffered more than most, with recent seasons seeing frustration amongst United supporters rise. Shaw's last game for the club in 2023/24 was on February 18, but he fought hard to return for Euro 2024 and managed to get fit enough to start the final against Spain.
He then returned to pre-season training at Carrington a few weeks later and picked up a muscle injury, meaning he went nine months between games for United while playing three times for England in between. It wasn't a great look.
In all, he managed just 12 club appearances last season, starting only three times in the Premier League, and his future looked to be hanging in the balance.
That is what makes the sudden turnaround all the more surprising. Shaw began the season as the left-sided centre-back under Ruben Amorim and has since reverted back to left-back under Michael Carrick. There have been more eye-catching performers for United this season, but Shaw's reliability, his ability to play in two positions, and his determination have impressed.
This has been one of his best seasons at the club, and he was a little unlucky not to earn an England recall last week. Despite his renaissance, United will try to find a succession plan for him this summer.
At the moment, Shaw faces little competition. Tyrell Malacia is making up the numbers on the bench and Patrick Dorgu has proved to be more effective as a winger. The schedule this season has also suited Shaw, reducing the demands to play twice a week.
That will change next season and with the left-back turning 31 in July and about to enter the final 12 months of his contract, finding a long-term replacement is on the agenda for this summer.
United have plenty to focus on this summer. They will look to sign two central midfielders and a left-winger, but left-back is also on the agenda and several names have been mentioned.
Eintracht Frankfurt's Nathaniel Brown is one player United have looked at. They have also shifted focus to Premier League-proven players recently, and Newcastle's Lewis Hall and Arsenal youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly fit the bill and have been linked with Old Trafford.
Signing Hall from Newcastle might be difficult, but Arsenal could well cash in on Lewis-Skelly, who would be counted as pure profit for accounting purposes and has started just once in the Premier League this season. He could be the ideal age to be Shaw's long-term successor.
As good as Shaw has been this season, United are right to have an eye on what comes next.