Mohammad Salah. Riyad Mahrez. Bukayo Saka. These are all tricky right-wingers who can make life very difficult for a Premier League left-back. But they pale in comparison to the toughest opponent Luke Shaw has encountered in his career – complacency.

Don Meyer, an American basketball coach, articulated the problems that self-congratulation can engender most succinctly: ‘Complacency is the forerunner of the mediocrity. You can never work too hard on attitudes, effort and technique.’ Shaw has often fallen foul of this mantra in his 8 and half years at Old Trafford. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that the left-back’s best form in this time coincided with the arrival of genuine competition for his place.

The 2020/21 season saw Shaw ascend to a new level of performance, receiving plaudits as the best fullback in Europe and earning the iconic nickname – Shawberto Carlos. He won United’s Player’s Player of the Year, was elected to the Premier League Team of the Season and was one of England’s best performers at the Euros. Such was his attacking prowess at the tournament that Shaw provided more assists in 4 minutes against Ukraine than Zinedine Zidane did in 14 appearances at the Euros. Silly statistics aside, the underlying point remained – Luke Shaw was performing at a genuinely world-class level.

But can we trace this form to external sources? Absolutely. The previous season saw the emergence of Brandon Williams in the United squad. Providing the enthusiasm of youth, with a fiery attitude to boot, Williams was a rare breathe of fresh air in what was an otherwise unremarkable season prior to the arrival of Bruno Fernandes. Then, in the summer transfer window, United bought Alex Telles from Porto, an experienced fullback with European pedigree.

Willams and Telles offered a sense of actual threat to Shaw’s place in the team. Yet it was this threat which produced the best version United fans had ever seen of the left-back in the 2020/2021 season. The following year however, with the accolades of the previous season still warming his soul, Shaw grew comfortable again. His place in the United team was assured. Hs spot in the England squad a sure thing. A new contract seemed certain. The result? Shaw’s worst season in recent memory. Complacency wasn’t merely the forerunner of mediocrity in this instance, it was the forerunner of alarmingly poor performance. Mediocrity would have been a massive improvement.

To solely attribute this generally dismal year for United to complacency would be myopic. It would require a comprehensive book to accurately detail all the ways in which the season fell apart, yet individually for Luke Shaw those feelings of assurance would have undoubtedly have been at the forefront. Eric Bailly, safe in the refuge of the Stage Vélodrome, provided confirmation of this in a recent interview. Bailly expressed his frustration that certain players were picked regardless of form:

‘[The club should] encourage competition in the dressing room, not just look out for some. I’ve always had the feeling that the national player was prioritised.’

Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire are chief suspects of these accusations. Such was Shaw’s fall from grace that talks over a new contract were paused until a new manager appointed, who could then judge whether the left-back was worth keeping. From Shawberto Carlos to Alexander Büttner in less than 12 months.

The United squad was given general clemency under new boss, Erik Ten Hag, however. Everyone would be given an equal chance in preseason to impress, the crimes of the previous season forgotten. The result of these fresh assurances? A poor 2-1 loss to Brighton on the opening day, before the humiliating 4-0 demolition away to Brentford. Shaw was especially poor in this game, hooked at half-time after 45 minutes of football where he looked completely off the pace and out-of-shape physically and mentally.

Yet it was the man he was replaced by which has once again resuscitated Shaw. Tyrell Malacia was signed in the summer following firm requests by Ten Hag to the United board. Malacia possesses the qualities on the ball that Telles provided, while offering the youthful enthusiasm and physical appetite for the game that Williams did. He’s quickly become a firm fan favourite, keeping Shaw out of the team as United would go on to win four of the next four in the league – a run that seemed unthinkable at half-time at Brentford.

Shaw has publicly accepted this exclusion from his manager, taking ownership of the form that lead to it in a way that would make Don Meyer proud:

‘It’s understandable that…the start of the season wasn’t good enough and he had to make changes and I fully accept that. The only thing I can do is train hard and wait for my opportunities.’

Malacia’s form has since dipped in the last few games, as you would expect from a young player’s first season in England. It’s Shaw’s transformation from the Brentford game which has softened this blow however.

The experienced fullback looks back to his best in the last few weeks. Physically he is much leaner and more sprightly on his feet, while his first touch and link-up play has returned tenfold. Shaw offers a different level of ability on the ball than Malacia; an ability that is crucial to helping Ten Hag implement his proactive philosophy. United’s collection of left-wingers, be it Jadon Sancho or Marcus Rashford, will be similarly helped by Shaw’s re-emergence. He’s also won his place in the England squad back, following a point when Chilwell had firmly displaced him.

With just over a month to go until the advent of the World Cup, Luke Shaw has timed the regaining of form at a crucial time. England and Manchester United fans will be hoping he can maintain the form we all know he is capable of for the remainder of the year, and the season beyond that. And both sets of fans will have Tyrell Malacia to thank if he does. Competition is the antidote to complacency.

Darragh Fox