JEREMY CROSS COLUMN: What's happened to Luke Shaw? Swansea eye Liverpool defender
DELE ALLI doesn’t have to look far to find the perfect example of how fickle football can be to a rising star who thinks he’s hit the big time.
Posted Monday, January 16, 2017 by Dailystar.co.uk
Luke Shaw has become a forgotten man at Old Trafford
Alli has the world at his talented feet following his stunning impact on the Premier League in the last two seasons.
He is being touted as the next superstar for Tottenham and England, has a new contract in his back pocket and is now experiencing the predictable links with some of football’s biggest and richest clubs.
Luke Shaw will know just how Alli feels.
Rewind to 2014 and Shaw was the talk of English football himself - just like Alli is now.
On a hot summer’s night in Rio, Shaw’s dad Paul and other family members joined their close friends from the Adam Lallana clan to celebrate the teenager’s completion of his stunning £30m move from Southampton to Manchester United.
The drinks were flowing as both families partied the night away in a swish hotel overlooking the famous Copacabana beach.
Life seemed perfect. Shaw had just become the most expensive teenager in British football and had a long-term deal worth £100,000-a-week to look forward to.
The plan was to establish himself in the United side, fill the void left by Patrice Evra at left back, help them return to the top and fill his cabinet trophies.
No-one saw the mother of all hangovers coming, but it has hit Shaw like a 10-ton truck.
At times Shaw hasn’t done himself any favours, while other circumstances - most notably a horrific leg break - have been out of his control.
Branded not fit enough by former boss Louis van Gaal, Shaw was made to train alone in Washington during the club’s pre-season tour of America, within weeks of arriving at the club.
The damage to his confidence was immeasurable. Van Gaal should have known better than to humiliate a young player in public like that, but on the other side of the coin Shaw should have been in better shape.
It got worse when he broke his leg in two places during the opening group game of the Champions League at PSV Eindhoven last season.
He missed the Euros, endured months of rehabilitation and came back into the fold of some sorts, making 13 appearances this season before disappearing again in November following a number of setbacks and fresh criticism from current boss Jose Mourinho.
There have been concerns about the company he keeps and despite the fact he returned to pre-season ahead of schedule in an attempt to impress Mourinho, it didn’t work.
The ‘missing’ posters have gone up around Manchester since he was last seen in the EFL Cup against West Ham.
Who knows when we will see him again?
Who knows if has the same mental strength and speed that once set him apart from other full backs?
Starsport understands his latest problem has been nothing more serious than a blister, but such is the paranoia now surrounding the 21-year-old that mountains are being made out of medical molehills.
Shaw is in danger of becoming a forgotten man, despite still having the majority of his career ahead of him.
Rumours are growing that he might be sold if United find someone willing to help them recoup most of the £30m spent on him.
But Shaw of all people should know by now that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side - and this is a lesson Alli should heed as the European vultures start to circle over White Hart Lane.
Sam Warburton could be left out of the Lions Tour
PEOPLE reckon Sam Warburton will blow his chance of leading the British Lions again if he stands down as Wales captain ahead of the Six Nations.
But what makes people presume Warburton will even be in Warren Gatland’s Test side for the three match series in New Zealand this summer?
Warburton led the Lions to a famous 2-1 series win in Australia on the last tour, but that won’t mean a jot to Gatland.
He showed his ruthless streak during that tour by dropping Brian O’Driscoll for the final Test in 2013 - and he was one of the greatest players of all time.
Warburton needs to focus on showing enough form to justify his place in the squad - and nothing else.
Swansea could look to Mamadou Sakho to solve their defensive issues
WHAT a ridiculous idea the January transfer window is.
Most managers hate it and I don’t blame them because all it does is make people act in an irrational manner.
It should be scrapped.
The biggest clubs don’t want to sell their biggest stars, so those needing re-enforcement’s look elsewhere and end up paying over the odds for short-term fixes.
Swansea are the perfect example. The Welsh outfit are staring relegation in the face and think Liverpool outcast Mamadou Sakho is the answer to their defensive problems.
Get real. Sakho has become an outcast at Liverpool falling out with boss Jurgen Klopp.
Despite the fact he hasn’t kicked a ball in anger since last April, the Swans have been told they will still have to pay £20m to land him.
When will clubs realise it is the business they do in the summer transfer window that goes on to define their seasons?
THE Ryder Cup in France next year could be about to see the two most dour captains in the competition’s history go head-to-head.
Jim Furyk will lock horns with European rival Thomas Bjorn after being confirmed as captain of the US side.
Both are known for their dry sense of humour and gritty determination.
Neither do ‘flash’. They just like to get the job done, so we can only hope their personalities don’t reflect the golf once it all gets started in Paris next September.
WEST Ham’s owners David Gold and David Sullivan are facing a losing battle when it comes to Dimitri Payet.
The duo must be applauded for digging their heels in and refusing to sell the sulking Frenchman, who has decided he doesn’t fancy playing for the club any more.
But players tend to get their own way in modern football. They hold all the aces.
Look what happened when Carlos Tevez went on strike at Manchester City?
He got his own way eventually and is now playing his trade in Chine for a staggering £600,000-a-week.
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