Let’s be ruthless here. While he’s a brilliant player, the idea of buying Leighton Baines for big money at the age of 29, represents a highly panicked strategy and a bad investment.
At best Baines will have 3 really top seasons left before the same questions are being asked again. He would have little or no sell-on value and would probably make the club poorer overall.
The only left-back that Manchester United should be interested in is Luke Shaw. The 18 year old is already a more dynamic player than Baines and, while he has much room for development, he’s going to make some elite team very happy with a decade of stellar service.
The Mirror said last night that:
Under-pressure Manchester United manager Moyes has been tracking England Under-21 ace Shaw, 18, with a view to a possible January move to the champions.
Manchester United, along with just about every other top team in the league, has been linked with the player for over a year. But it’s going to take a huge amount of money and will to snare him from Southampton.
Responding to the persistent rumours about the player, his manager Mauricio Pochettino said yesterday:
“Clubs can show their interest – that is not something we can control. In this case, Luke Shaw is not a player we want to sell. In a sporting manner, he is not for sale.”
This may be a stance to simply push up his price but Pochettino is a very impressive and single-minded man. He may simply block any move for the player as he continues to work wonders at Southampton.
We think that, ultimately, Shaw’s ambitions will be matched only by Champions League football. But, for now, the Southampton boss has every reason to dig his heels in over the brilliant youngster.
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