"I was making every decision for him. He has to change his football brain."
As observations go it was up there with the cruellest. Jose Mourinho had no problem calling out Luke Shaw in public during his time at Manchester United.
But, six years on from those comments, Shaw is on the brink of agreeing a new long-term United deal that will take him past a decade at Old Trafford. It looked a long way off under Mourinho but the full back has progressed spectacularly in recent years.
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He arrived at Old Trafford less than two years after breaking into the senior team at Southampton and initially struggled to settle in his new surroundings. That got harder in 2015 when the full back suffered a horrendous leg break which kept him out of action for six months.
By the time he returned, Louis van Gaal had been sacked and Mourinho had been appointed. Shaw returned to the first team in a 1-1 draw against Everton, but his showing prompted that answer from Jose.
"He was in front of me and I was making every decision for him. He has to change his football brain," Mourinho said after the game. "We need his fantastic physical and technical qualities, but he cannot continue to play with my brain."
Thee comments would end up defining the relationship between the pair. The England international later admitted the relationship was strained between himself and Mourinho.
"It wasn't the best," he said in 2021. "It was probably quite easy to see that from the outside. But one thing Jose did do was make me mentally much stronger.
"I think mental strength is what I would describe that period under Jose Mourinho. I think I felt part of the team under Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer], whereas under Jose, sometimes I didn't."
The mental strength which Shaw accumulated during the Mourinho era was required as United's on pitch fortunes deteriorated under Solksjaer and Rangnick. The player's form suffered, albeit he continued to excel on the international stage,
At Euro 2020, Shaw was one of Gareth Southgate's standout players but on his return to Old Trafford he looked a shadow of his tournament self. After scoring for England against Switzerland, Shaw hinted the atmosphere at United was impacting performances.
"The environment here that Gareth creates, you always enjoy it," he explained. "I think when I come here, for me it's about enjoyment, playing games with a smile on my face and enjoying it. I feel like when I come here I always do that, we all love playing for our country.
"When we're here we just focus on what's happening because my main focus is England at this time. I think everyone does. It's always important to feel like you're wanted.
"Especially here, I always feel that. I'm not saying I don't at United but especially here, the way things are, I feel wanted, I enjoy my football. The big part of football is enjoyment.
"Of course, it's hard to enjoy it when we're losing and we're not playing well at club level, we have to face that, this season it's not been good enough at all it's hard to enjoy, we've got a lot to improve on at the club but we're here at England so it's more focused on that."
Erik ten Hag's arrival in the summer provided a fresh chance for Shaw but the 2022/23 season has not been without its complications either. After poor performances against Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford, the 27-year-old had to watch from the sidelines for the remainder of August and September as Tyrell Malacia took his opportunity.
However, a nightmare first half for Malacia in the 6-3 defeat at Manchester City afforded Shaw another chance and he has not looked back. As well as playing in his more natural left back role, Shaw has proven his versatility to the team by filling in at centre-back. He's certainly caught his new manager's attention.
"I like that he’s so honest," the Ten Hag explained. "After the second game, he didn’t play and said 'I fully understand that my performance was not right.' But from the first day in training at pre-season, he was working really hard, and you can see when he has the right approach he’s a top player.
"I don’t mean only as a team player, he’s a leader. He’s showed a lot of leadership capacities. He’s the example at this moment, and with his skills and his physical power he brings a lot to the team. But now also with his mentality.
"He’s an example of how to win big games. I’m really happy with his development. I think it’s been huge either at centre-half or left full-back. He’s a great player and a great personality for the dressing room."
Shaw is now on the verge of sealing a new long term contract with the Reds and there is no doubt he deserves it. The Englishman has shown himself to be a valuable asset to United and one that could be key to the club's progression under Ten Hag.
He's certainly showing his football brain these days.
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