Luke Shaw’s prospective transfer to Manchester United has stalled, with the left-back considering his options and determined not to rush into any move from Southampton.
United had believed signing Shaw was virtually a done deal, with much of the work credited to David Moyes before he was sacked as manager, and, though they remain in a strong position, they are no longer the favourites for his signature.
The decision to give Patrice Evra a one-year contract extension, which emerged on Friday and could be viewed as a surprise, may be a recognition from United that the 20-times champions could yet miss out on Shaw.
If the Frenchman had not been retained and the deal to sign Shaw does collapse, that would have left the unconvincing Alexander Büttner as the sole left-back for Louis van Gaal, the new manager.
The development will alert a host of clubs both in the Premier League and on the continent who retain an interest in the 18-year-old Shaw, with Chelsea among those monitoring the situation.
The west London club are currently keeping only a watching brief given their current financial situation, with it being understood that Chelsea are not willingto pay Southampton’s asking price of £30m and would offer Shaw a salary of around £60,000 a week compared with the £100,000 United were considering paying.
Furthermore Shaw’s elevation in status to being part of Roy Hodgson’s World Cup squad means he will move only to a club where he will be first-choice and César Azpilicueta has impressed at left-back under José Mourinho.
The Chelsea manager does require a left-back as Ashley Cole seems certain to be released. And with David Luiz’s impending £40m transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, Branislav Ivanovic could again be asked to play at centre-back with Mourinho moving Azpilicueta back across to right-back, opening up the left-back berth for Shaw.
Van Gaal is considering paying Yevhen Konoplyanka’s €15m (£12.1m) buyout clause, with the Dnipro winger willing to join despite United not being in next season’s Champions League.
United have scouted Konoplyanka, who is also interesting Liverpool and Schalke 04, on more than one occasion, the most recent being on Sunday when Dnipro played Metalurh Donetsk.
Andrey Stetsenko, Dnipro’s sporting director who is in charge of transfers, accepts that Konoplyanka could leave the club, with United moving ahead of Liverpool as the Merseyside club have not been in contact since January.
“Our scouts are working to find his replacement. Sooner or later Konoplyanka will leave Dnipro,” he said.
