Youth Report: Luke Shaw

New Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino has been impressed with the youngster and believes he can make the grade “Yes, bit by bit he could get there (being an England international), I think he has a great future and at 17 I have to say he is very mature.”

High praise indeed for such a young man.

Luke Shaw, at just 17, is already tipped by most to be on the plane to Brazil with England this Summer, as back-up to Ashley Cole and Leighton Baines, such is the stature and level of performances of the young left-back. The teenager has made a huge impact on anyone who has had the pleasure of watching him this year, you’ll have noticed that  the talented youngster has all the ability in the world, and all the ability to take himself to a whole other level. Had he started against Sweden in the Under 21′s friendly game, he would have been the second youngest player to ever appear for them, behind only Theo Walcott. Another feather in Shaw’s cap is that he has pushed out Danny Fox, who was an integral part of the Saints promotion defence, to the bench and made the position his own with a string of fine performances this year including a man of the match performance against Reading which helped the south coast club to a vital win over their relegation rivals.

The main aspects of Luke Shaw’s game are his fantastic strength, making him more than apt to cope with anyone he comes up against and this paired with his speed, make him a real force to be reckoned with and extremely hard to get the better off during a battle down the line, this shown by the fact that only 7 times has Shaw been beaten by his opposite number all season and on average winning the ball back 4 times per game.  The term ‘chalk on your boots’ is often a phrase you’ll hear should you stroll down to your local park on a Saturday and Shaw certainly took heed, bombing down that left side at will and really benefiting the Saints left wing threat. Shaw also is incredibly strong in the air, able to win headers against the tallest and attackers with the best jumping in the league, all these amazing attributes have made Luke Shaw a major target for Chelsea, who are looking for a long term replacement for Ashley Cole, and the obvious comparisons and likenesses between the two are obvious for all to see.

Apart from the tricks of the trade that Luke Shaw will pick up as he matures further, I can not see much else wrong with the promising left-backs game and believe he could go on to surpass the likes of Ashley Cole. Patrice Evra and other top class left-backs from around the world to become the best there is. So long as he keeps his head down and continues with the attitude he has and seems to be really down to earth by the looks of his Twitter account, which is always an important quality of a young footballer.