Manchester United's Luke Shaw is responding to uncomfortable dressing room question again

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer signed Donny van de Beek and Alex Telles for Manchester United in the summer of 2020. The pair made just 12 appearances in the Premier League between them that season and they watched the majority of the campaign from the bench.

The benefit of hindsight has shown that Solskjaer's recruitment during his time at Old Trafford was beyond dubious and Van de Beek and Telles are included on that broad list of players that would be considered failed signings. Van de Beek has hardly even played under Erik ten Hag, who he rose to prominence working under at Ajax, while Telles has been sent out on loan to Sevilla this season.

Telles is a left-back that can't defend and he started far too many matches last term. It was no surprise that Ten Hag made him surplus to requirements this summer and the best work he achieved at Old Trafford was actually forcing Shaw to raise his performances.

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It is no secret that competition for places is conducive to raising dressing room standards and the signing of Telles in October 2020 was the catalyst that Shaw needed to improve. The left-back appeared to have become complacent and that needed to change.

Shaw responded to the signing of Telles better than Solskjaer could have ever imagined. Shaw has now spent eight years at the club and he undoubtedly played the best football of his United career throughout 2020/21 when he was genuinely world-class.

He enjoyed a better season than Andrew Robertson, Alphonso Davies, Ferland Mendy and Ben Chilwell, which made him the world's best in his position, and he did his reputation no harm when continuing in that form at the 2020 European Championship.

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