England Praise for Luke Shaw Is Sign of Burgeoning Maturity at Manchester United

Manchester United invested heavily in Luke Shaw over the summer; nearly £30 million for a 19-year-old with only two seasons of Premier League experience is a lot of money, even for a club with United's deep pockets.

But they weren't just paying for the player Shaw is now when they signed the cheque and sent it off to Southampton; they were paying for the player they hope he will become in the future.

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If everything goes to plan, United won't have to buy another left-back for 15 years. And if Shaw is still wearing the No. 3 shirt in 2029, then £30 million will seem like a bargain. After all, there was a time when £3.75 million for Roy Keane seemed extortionate.

United are gambling. They're banking on Shaw staying fit and developing on the pitch. More importantly, they're relying on him maturing off it.

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It's easy to forget he's still a young boy, a teenager with lots of money and free time. It's a combination that has ended the careers of many promising footballers. 

It's important, then, that he shows a desire to grow up quickly. 

England under-21 manager Gareth Southgate's comments to reporters on Shaw's attitude upon joining up with his squad show he's doing just that:

"

You only have to talk to Luke Shaw to see how much he enjoyed the two matches.

He played extremely well and Croatia were a fantastic test for him. He’s shown humility to come down and fit in with the group and that’s what you hope for but it isn’t a given that that happens.

Raheem Sterling was the same when he came down and played with us earlier in the year and if we can start to breed that mentality in our players then it gives them a great chance of being successful.

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It would have been easy for Shaw to take offence at being asked to drop down to the U21s just a few months after going to the World Cup with the seniors, but he didn't.

He joined up, played well, got some valuable match fitness under his belt and impressed his manager. Like Southgate said, it should be a given, but it's not. Shaw deserves credit for making the right decision.

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It's good news for United, too. They will have checked everything from his home life to his group of friends before they signed him, but you can never really know how a 19-year-old is going to turn out.

They've gambled a huge amount of money on the belief he can be trusted to make the right decisions both on and off the pitch. This week they will feel they have won a small but significant victory.