Rumour: Manchester United in pole position to secure Luke Shaw for £30 million

According to ESPN, Manchester United are edging closer to securing the services of £30 million Luke Shaw from Southampton.

Southampton club director Hans Hofstetter previously stated his intention to resist the sale of any player Mauricio Pochettino wanted to keep, as reported by ESPN.

“The most important point is that we are in a position where we do not need to sell any player Mauricio wants to keep,” Hofstetter told BBC Radio Solent.

“We have a very strong squad and we are still in a situation where we are free enough to act quickly if quick action is asked from us.”

However, with Patrice Evra rumoured to be leaving in the summer, United may well put forward an offer for the 18-year-old that Southampton will find hard to refuse.

Elsewhere, The  Mirror have reported that Chelsea are set to drop out of the race for Shaw, deterred by the rising valuation of the player. Instead, Jose Mourinho intends to promote Patrick van Aanholt, one of many Chelsea loan players currently plying their trade at Dutch football club Vitesse.

Another thing in United’s favour is that they would be able to offer Shaw first-team football, whereas at Chelsea he’d be playing second fiddle to Cesar Azpilicueta.

Luke Shaw’s tackle success rate this season is 57% (50 out of 87)