Luke Shaw

Luke Paul Hoare Shaw (born 12 July 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back or centre-back for club Manchester United and the England national team.

In 2002, Shaw joined the Southampton Academy at the age of seven, and became a regular in the under-18 team from the age of 15.

His first association with the first team came in September 2011, when he was an unused substitute in a League Cup match against Preston North End.

Originally a member of Southampton's youth system, Shaw made his first-team debut for the club in January 2012.

He signed his first professional contract in May that year before becoming a regular in the Southampton team over the next two seasons.

During the January 2012 transfer window, it was reported that Premier League clubs Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City had shown interest in signing 16-year-old Shaw, with the then-Championship club reportedly valuing the defender at £4 million.

Southampton quickly responded to such claims though, with then-manager Nigel Adkins assuring the media that "Luke Shaw is a big part of our future plans", and claiming that the club had "no intention … of letting any of [their] young players move on".

At the age of 16, Shaw made his debut for the Southampton first team on 28 January 2012 in the FA Cup, replacing winger Jason Puncheon for the final 13 minutes of the third round tie against Millwall, which finished 1–1.

Following the club's promotion to the top flight in May 2012, Shaw was one of four youth players offered a professional contract for their return to the Premier League, along with Jack Stephens, Calum Chambers and James Ward-Prowse.

The defender made his first start for the Southampton first team in August 2012, playing the full 90 minutes of a 4–1 win over Stevenage in the League Cup, and on 10 November 2012, he became the youngest Southampton player to start a match in the Premier League when he was chosen to play at left-back against Swansea City, completing 74 minutes of the 1–1 draw.

Shaw continued to make regular appearances throughout the season, and in manager Nigel Adkins's final match as Southampton manager on 16 January 2013, he set up the second goal in a 2–2 draw away to Chelsea, providing a cross from the left wing for Jason Puncheon to convert in the 75th minute.

In an away match against Norwich City in March 2013, Shaw was involved in a collision with striker Grant Holt, which resulted in conceding a penalty in the first minute of injury time at the end of the match, although Artur Boruc saved the ensuing spot kick to ensure the match ended goalless.

Shaw finished his first professional season with 28 appearances for Southampton, including 25 in the Premier League.

On 12 July 2013, Shaw signed a new five-year contract with Southampton.

Shaw scored one goal during Southampton's pre-season preparations, scoring the last in an 8–0 win over Spanish team Palamós on 20 July 2013.

In the first match of the 2013–14 season, Shaw was directly involved in the goal that saw Southampton win against West Bromwich Albion when he was fouled in the penalty area by Youssouf Mulumbu in the 89th minute, with Rickie Lambert converting the resulting spot kick to see the Saints edge victory.

He was also selected as left-back in the 2013–14 PFA Team of the Year.

In June 2014, Shaw was signed by Manchester United for £30 million, then a world record transfer fee for a teenager.

Shaw made his senior international debut for England in March 2014 in a 1–0 friendly win against Denmark, and later that year was selected in the squad for the FIFA World Cup.

On 18 April 2014, Shaw was named as one of the six players on the shortlist for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

On 27 June 2014, Shaw signed a four-year contract (with an option to extend for a further year) with Manchester United for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £30 million, becoming the most expensive teenager in world football.

Chelsea were also interested in Shaw, but they backed away from a deal fearing the teenager's excessive pay demands would cause friction in their dressing room.

Shaw made his debut in the first match of the club's pre-season tour of the United States, playing the first 45 minutes of a 7–0 win over the LA Galaxy.

Before the start of the season, he suffered a hamstring injury that ruled him out for a month.

Shaw was named as a substitute for Manchester United for the first time on 14 September 2014 in their fourth league match, and was unused as they recorded their first victory of the season against Queens Park Rangers.

After again being an unused substitute in the subsequent defeat to Leicester City, Shaw made his competitive debut for United on 27 September 2014, playing the entirety of a 2–1 home victory against West Ham United.

In October 2014, Shaw was named on the 40-man shortlist for the 2014 Golden Boy award, a prize given to the player considered to be the best European-based player under the age of 21.

On 8 February 2015, Shaw was sent off after receiving a second yellow card during a 1–1 draw with West Ham.

On 18 April 2015, Shaw made his return to the starting line-up, replacing the injured Daley Blind.

His first match since 9 March 2015 ended in a 1–0 defeat to league leaders Chelsea, but Shaw put up a solid performance and was praised by captain Wayne Rooney.

Shaw started every league match in the early part of the 2015–16 season until 15 September 2015, when, during the opening match of the Champions League group stage against PSV, Shaw was caught by Héctor Moreno with a sliding tackle and suffered a double leg fracture.

Shaw was given oxygen and treated by nine medical staff during the nine-minute stoppage in Eindhoven before he was taken off on a stretcher and taken to hospital.

Shaw was out of action for six months, before returning to training on 4 April 2016.

He scored his first international goal in the UEFA Euro 2020 final, which was also the fastest scored in a UEFA European Championship final.

Shaw was born in Kingston upon Thames, London and raised in Molesey, Surrey.

He attended Chandlers Field Primary School and Rydens Enterprise School, where he helped the Under-15 team reach the semi-finals of the English Schools' FA Cup.

He began playing grassroots football with Hersham and Molesey Juniors.

Shaw grew up as a Chelsea supporter and idolised full-back Ashley Cole.

He played at Chelsea's development centre in Guildford, but was not offered an academy place.

He has said that he wanted to eventually play for the club.