Luke Shaw has not earned his five-year £150,000-a-week contract – yet

Luke Shaw has been handed a lucrative new long-term contract at Manchester United. But has he really done enough to deserve it?

On Thursday, the club announced that Luke Shaw has penned a new five-year contract which will keep him at Old Trafford until June 2023, with the option to extend for a further year.

Although the club has not officially disclosed the left-back’s new wages, reports suggest that his salary has risen to an eye-watering £150,000-a-week with this new deal – which would easily make him one of the highest paid defenders in the world.

Wait, what!?

Don’t get me wrong, Luke Shaw has easily been one of our better performers so far this season, but is that really saying much? We’re currently sitting in 8th place in the Premier League table having lost three matches already with a goal difference of -1. It seems extremely premature to reward a player with a new long-term contract when we’ve been so poor this season.

Although Shaw himself has won back-to-back player of the month awards this season, this has been the England international’s longest run of games in years (which is saying something, considering this run consists of just seven games). In fact, since his traumatic leg-break in the 2015-16 season, Shaw hasn’t made more than 11 league appearances in a season – a very poor figure regardless of the injury.

If Shaw finishes this season with 30+ appearances for Manchester United then fair play to him. But until then, I think the club have sent their players the wrong message. What’s to stop other players who’ve made many more appearances than Shaw from demanding a pay rise in future? Thing’s could get messy in the coming months that’s for sure…

Anyway, here’s what Mourinho had to say about the 23-year-old following the signing of the new deal:

"“Luke fully deserves this contract. He understood his development process, he has worked really hard at every level and he always believes in himself which is a great attribute to have.“Luke is still young and is improving all the time and he must feel very proud of himself. I am delighted that we are keeping such a talented young English player with a bright future ahead of him.” [manutd.com]"

Now I don’t doubt anything Mourinho has just said. Shaw has certainly come a long way since his terrible injury. But the 23-year-old still has room to grow before he can be considered to be among the best left-backs in the world.

Do you agree that handing Luke Shaw a £150,000-a-week contract is a little premature? Or do you think that his recent performances have shown enough to his justify a pay rise? Let us know in the comments below!