Parker Criticizes Shaw as Manchester United Eyes £60m Hall Transfer

Manchester United’s rebuild has hit a raw nerve with Paul Parker, who has launched a scathing attack on Luke Shaw and urged the club to rip up their left‑back plans before the window closes.

Shaw, who finally managed to start all 38 league games last season for the first time since his £30 million arrival in 2014, still hasn’t convinced Parker. The former United defender believes the position remains a glaring weakness in a squad trying to reset under Michael Carrick.

Speaking to Betarades.gr, Parker made his stance brutally clear. If United intend to use Shaw higher up the pitch, he argued, they simply cannot go into the season without a new specialist on that flank.

“If the plan is to play him as a winger, then the club seriously needs a new left back because Luke Shaw isn’t good enough,” Parker said. “They really need a mobile fullback with agility who can defend properly as well and a player who can do a job up and down the pitch.”

That profile has sent United back into a familiar hunt: a dynamic defender who can live with the Premier League’s pace and still offer quality going forward. Two names have already emerged. Newcastle United’s Lewis Hall and Arsenal youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly have both been linked with moves to Old Trafford as United scan the market for long-term solutions.

The Hall deal, though, looks like a slog. Newcastle value the 19-year-old at around £60m and have shown little enthusiasm for cashing in on one of their brightest prospects. United would need to pay big and persuade a direct rival to weaken their own future plans.

Parker thinks the club cannot afford to be put off. For him, replacing Shaw is not a luxury. It is non-negotiable.

He did not soften the message.

“Luke Shaw can’t run and he can’t defend or attack, so what do you need him for? Dalot is always going to be an issue when he plays as well, especially if they play him on the left back,” Parker said, widening his criticism to the other side of United’s defensive options.

If the market proves too expensive or too complicated, Parker believes the answer might already be on the training pitches at Carrington.

He wants teenage defender Harry Amass to be thrown into the mix properly, not parked on the fringes.

“I saw Harry Amass play a couple of games for Sheffield Wednesday and up until the injury all the Wednesday fans were completely raving about him,” Parker said. “Absolutely raving about him, so maybe it is time to give him the opportunity? The club should be better at introducing young players like him and give them a run. In my opinion, he needs a run, not just a couple of games.”

That is the challenge laid at Carrick’s door. Trust a teenager. Push hard for Hall. Or find another target who can finally lock down a position United have been patching up for years.

The clock is ticking towards the transfer deadline. With a new season closing in and the margins at the top shrinking, United’s next move at left-back will say a lot about how serious this rebuild really is.