Paul Parker Warns Carrick: Luke Shaw Isn’t Good Enough for Manchester United
Paul Parker has fired a blunt warning in Michael Carrick’s direction: if Manchester United are serious about moving forward, Luke Shaw cannot remain first-choice left-back.
Carrick is gearing up for his first full season in charge at Old Trafford and a major rebuild is already under way. The club have ripped up the heart of their midfield following Casemiro’s departure, bringing in Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa to reshape the engine room.
At the other end of the pitch, Karl Darlow has arrived from Leeds United to provide cover for Senne Lammens after the Belgian’s impressive debut campaign in goal. The work is far from done, though, and one position keeps flashing red on the dashboard: left-back.
Parker: ‘What do you need Luke Shaw for?’
Newcastle United’s Lewis Hall has been linked with a move to Old Trafford, while Myles Lewis-Skelly has also been offered to United in recent days. Yet the most stinging assessment has come from within the club’s own past.
Shaw, signed for £30 million back in 2014, managed to start all 38 Premier League games last season for the first time in his United career. For Parker, that statistic disguises a bigger problem.
Speaking to Betarades.gr, the former United defender did not hold back.
‘I expect from Patrick Dorgu what I saw from him before he got injured, but I need to see it on a regular basis,’ Parker said. ‘I don’t know where he is going to play. Will he play at left back or as a winger? I think it will be as a winger.
‘If the plan is to play him as a winger, then the club seriously needs a new left back because Luke Shaw isn’t good enough.
‘They really need a mobile fullback with agility who can defend properly as well and a player who can do a job up and down the pitch.
‘Luke Shaw can’t run and he can’t defend or attack, so what do you need him for? Dalot is always going to be an issue when he plays as well, especially if they play him on the left back.’
It is a brutal verdict on a player who has just come through his most durable league season in a United shirt.
‘Give Harry Amass a run’
If United choose not to move in the market, Parker believes the solution should come from within rather than persisting with Shaw.
‘I saw Harry Amass play a couple of games for Sheffield Wednesday and up until the injury all the Wednesday fans were completely raving about him,’ he said.
‘Absolutely raving about him, so maybe it is time to give him the opportunity? The club should be better at introducing young players like him and give them a run. In my opinion, he needs a run, not just a couple of games.
‘Something needs to happen and in my opinion they have to bring in a left back or decide to play Amass there, but I just doubt they will do it which is the reason I said they have to bring in a left back.’
For Parker, the choice is stark: spend on a new left-back or back the teenager. What he does not want to see is another season with Shaw locked in as an automatic starter.
Doubts over Andrey Santos deal
Parker also questioned the logic behind United’s move for Andrey Santos, a player who struggled to make a real impression at Chelsea.
‘The Andrey Santos signing did catch me by surprise,’ he admitted.
‘I was with a friend the other day who is a big Chelsea fan and goes to all the games, so I asked him about Andrey Santos. I just said that he should tell me about Andrey Santos but he couldn’t tell me much because he said Santos didn’t start many games, which I can obviously see myself as well.
‘So, I am hoping it is a Michael Carrick signing rather than other people in the club just wanting him, but I still need to see more from Andrey Santos before I can give a proper verdict.
‘I can’t really remember him that much to be honest and I think a lot of people are feeling the same. Is he going to be one of the starting eleven? I actually hope so, because it is not good enough if he was just brought in to be a squad player. We don’t need that kind of player coming in.’
Carrick now faces a decisive few weeks. He has new faces in midfield, fresh competition in goal and a fanbase waiting for a clear identity.
The next call is a big one: trust Shaw, promote Amass, or go all out for a new left-back and reshape the defence for good.
