JOSE MOURINHO has told Luke Shaw he has to force himself into the Manchester United first-team – and it’s won’t be “cheap.”
The United boss was speaking to the media ahead of the Europa League round of 32 second-leg clash with St Etienne.
But he declared that he was happy with his defence and that Shaw remained out of the first-team picture – fuelling speculation of a summer exit.
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Mourinho said: “I am playing with Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo, Darmian.
“They are playing the way I like a full-back to play and Luke has to wait for his chance knowing I give nothing for free.
“When I give something to the players it is not cheap, it is expensive.
“They have to work hard every day, they have to play well, so he has to wait. In this moment, he is behind the others.
“Potentially, he has many things that I like.”
Shaw, 21, has made only 14 appearances for United this season.
The former Southampton left-back did have a devastating leg break last season, that kept him out for the entire term.
His team-mate Wayne Rooney will also be a player sweating over his United future, with the record-breaking striker told there is “no guarantee” he will be at the club next season.
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But he has had a tough time of it since returning to fitness under Mourinho, having previously thrived under Louis van Gaal before his injury.
Mourinho and Shaw have seemingly not always seen eye-to-eye, a fact that goes back to when the Portuguese tried to sign him for Chelsea before he chose a switch to Old Trafford.
But Shaw has a chance of breaking into the United first-team - if he follows the example set by Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The Armenian seemed well and truly out of the first-team squad before he got his head down in training and forced his way into Mourinho's first XI.
Shaw's last start for United was in their 4-0 FA Cup win over Wigan at Old Trafford, where the boss used the match as an opportunity to give fringe players an opportunity to impress.
Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Wayne Rooney and Axel Tuanzebe all got game-time for the Red Devils that evening.
The fact that Shaw is being put in a bracket with those players speaks volumes of the defender's current status.
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