It is not so long ago that Luke Shaw’s future at Manchester United was reported to be under scrutiny. Back in November, senior United figures wondered if the emergence of Brandon Williams had placed Shaw’s status at long-term risk, while Ashley Young was also providing competition at left-back.



This last week has shown rumours of Shaw’s demise to be greatly exaggerated.



He has played excellently for three full games covering two different positions, and while the benefit of fitness work and relaxation in Dubai followed by United’s training camp in Marbella seems immediately obvious, his form is part of a wider upward curve – with January 19 a notable signpost before the winter break.



That was the day, against Liverpool, when Shaw first played as a left-sided centre-half in the Premier League, and if anybody outside of United’s coaching staff claims to have foreseen that positional development, a polygraph would inevitably...