Gary Neville impressed by Man United defender despite Brighton loss

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has been impressed by Luke Shaw’s performances since moving from left-back to centre-back.

Having recently lost both Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez through injury for the rest of the season, Erik Ten Hag has been forced to reinvent his back line.

Although club captain Harry Maguire is still on the Red Devils’ books, Ten Hag has continually opted against starting the Englishman, and while that doesn’t bode well for his long-term future, it has allowed other players to thrive, especially Shaw, who has been allowed to showcase his versatility.

Although spending his entire senior career playing as a full-back, the second half of this campaign has seen the former Southampton man moved more centrally to partner Victor Lindelof, and the 27-year-old has barely put a foot wrong.

Consequently, Shaw has earned the praise of Neville, who took to Twitter during Thursday’s Premier League match between United and Brighton, to say how impressed he’s been with Ten Hag’s number 23.

How well is Luke Shaw doing at Centre Back

— Gary Neville (@GNev2) May 4, 2023

Shortly after posting this update, Shaw was at fault for conceding a late penalty kick after handling the ball inside his own area and Brighton, thanks to a successfully converted spot kick by Alexis Mac Allister, went on to win one-nill, but that single moment is not enough to take away from how crucial the Englishman’s position change has been in recent weeks.

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