Gareth Southgate has told Manchester United defender Luke Shaw that he must play regularly if he wants to regain his spot at left-back in the England side.
Shaw has dropped down the pecking order under Jose Mourinho at United but was surprisingly named in Southgate’s England squad during the international break in matches against Germany and Lithuania.
The 21-year-old was given a six-minute run out at the end of England’s 1-0 defeat to Germany last week but was an unused substitute in their 2-0 victory over Lithuania on Sunday and Southgate has told the youngster he needs regular first-team football to be considered in the future.
“We’ve got some pretty good left backs, so it’s great to have that competition,” The Sun quote Southgate as saying. “Shaw must force his way back for United. He’s willing to take on the challenge, which is good. They have got plenty of matches coming up for him to stake claim.”
Shaw has struggled to impress Mourinho since being criticised for his performance in a 3-1 defeat to Watford in September, only making nine appearances since then.
However, United are now dealing with a number of potential absences in defence ahead of a period that will see them play nine games in April, which should give Shaw some opportunities to catch the United manager’s eye.
For more stats on Luke Shaw, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
