By Samuel Luckhurst
22:30, 26 JUL 2018
As the Uber driver approaches jaws of Manchester United's Beverly Hills hotel it soon becomes apparent his is the smallest-sized vehicle crammed into the parking lot. There are Bentleys, Range Rovers and even a souped-up Batmobile, although not Tim Burton or Christopher Nolan-authentic. The doorman obligingly beckons us towards the entrance and as we are approaching Jose Mourinho is hurriedly exiting. He diplomatically pauses to shake the journalists' hands and offers a pat on the back. But we are not here to see him.
Luke Shaw is our interviewee and we are early. The bar is sparse but from our stools we can see it is bustling in the hallway. United players are shadowed by imposing security bods. Shaw is among those who are escorted upstairs for a meet-and-greet on what is an allocated slot for United's commercial and media activities. Once the players have fulfilled every selfie request they will be transported by 4X4s to their afternoon training session at the UCLA's Drake Stadium.
At half-past one, we enter an indoor balcony that doubles as a private interviewing room and Shaw is waiting for us. There is more flesh-pressing and pleasantries are exchanged as a United staff member carries some chairs around. Shaw is enjoying Los Angeles but United are likely to tour elsewhere next year. He is preparing to be at the club then.
What is striking about Shaw, as we click our dictaphones on and huddle around him, is he is not fat. His build is bulky but muscular. Mourinho is a stickler for physical footballers and Shaw showed in the hairdryer breeze of Phoenix that he is capable of supplementing power with pace.
Shaw's height is listed at six foot or an inch more on certain websites, yet he looks smaller in stature. That creates an illusion with his weight, which has been a recurring topic since Louis van Gaal questioned Shaw's fitness during his first pre-season with United in 2014. Shaw's holiday photos last month were derided on social media yet the 23-year-old looked shredded during his trip to Dubai, where he embarked on a rigorous fitness week prior to pre-season.
"Everyone looked at me like I was a different sort of person," he says of that Instagram upload. "People think because of the way that I'm naturally built I'm bigger than I am. Of course people can say that I'm fat but I know my own body.
"Of course I always look big because I'm bigger built and I'm sort of that, you could say a Wayne Rooney type of body. But of course I worked hard and not just for them [the critics], but I wanted to for myself get in the best shape and that wasn't my best shape. It was a good shape to start the season off the pre-season, but now I'm working harder than ever and first game of the season I want to look 10 times better than what I did in that picture."
Shaw 'liked' a tweet defending his physique after those snapshots of him in Ibiza were lampooned. Unless his Twitter notification settings are draconian, Shaw is bound to scroll through the bile that keyboard warriors post in an era of cyber bullying which is policed with as much authority as Chief Wiggum. Shaw is a victim of body-shaming. Does the grief affect him?
"I guess you've just got to take it because there is always going to be negative criticism and positive," he muses. "But I think both of them can make you stronger.
"And I think I've been unlucky because I've had a few sort of ups and downs with different managers but I would say I've never been out of shape I've just, I don't know. Sometimes people don't think I'm fitter than I am but that's all sort of in the past now.
"And, honestly, I feel really good and I'm raring to go and the minutes are only going to help me become fitter, and that's what I need, minutes and hard work in training. And then I'll feel great."
Shaw is getting minutes, having started United's three pre-season matches in the absence of Ashley Young. His fitness is unquestionable following those gruelling five days in 45-degree Dubai heat with the club's fitness and conditioning coach Gary Walker. Shaw was an early riser for his tailored training: On-pitch training session, gym work, a daytime relax, running on the beach and core work in the evening as the sun set. "Like I said, it was intense," he notes.
Mourinho has already pencilled Shaw in to start the Premier League opener against Leicester on August 10, a selection which is not enforced. The emergence in early June that United were unlikely to sign a left-back registered as a shock in that the club had considered replacements for Shaw for upwards of 18 months. Danny Rose and Kieran Tierney were scouted and the club earmarked Juventus' Alex Sandro as their prime option. Something had changed. But what? A text message.
"I spoke with the manager about a week after the holidays," Shaw explains. "I was in Dubai and he texted me and we had a really good chat. It made me feel really confident about the upcoming season and that's why I worked really hard.
"It was a breath of fresh air when he texted me. I wasn’t expecting it. I was on my phone and I got the text. I spoke to him and it was really positive, really good." Only tablet texting also notifies the sender when the recipient has seen the message.
"It was funny," Shaw adds. "I was just on my phone flicking through stuff. I got the text and I accidentally clicked on it straightaway. He’s probably thinking ‘Jesus Christ!’. But that wasn't the case. I said to my girlfriend, 'F**k, I’ve just opened it and I must look so weird now.’ It was fine. I left it a little bit to reply because I didn’t want to look too eager."
Reality bites, though. Shaw has fewer than 12 months remaining on his United contract and there is believed to be some uncertainty in his camp over whether to commit. United want Shaw to sign fresh terms, but have to protect an asset they invested up to £31million in to make the most expensive teenage footballer in 2014. He only managed eight league starts in 2017-18.
So if the club is getting jumpy, would it not be in Shaw's interests to extend?
"For me personally," he begins. "I think now... I don't think I would want to sign a contract right now. Because I want to prove to people that I deserve a contract, I don't want to sign one because of blah, blah, blah, whatever happens in the next couple of months, I want to earn a contract and I want a contract because I deserve a contract.
"I can’t keep sitting on the bench and letting my life go on, smoking a cigar and not doing anything. It’s not me. I want to be playing football. I’m hoping it works out here and I play this season here. If not, I need to look at myself and maybe find another solution.
"If the manager comes to me and says 'You're not a player for Manchester United, you're not a player for me,' then I'll totally accept that and go and find another place. But until he says that I'll keep fighting until the very last step.
"I know the club believe me and I really do know that, I've spoken with them, I've spoken with the manager, I've had discussions, I've had meetings, I've had chats. I know that they believe in me and if they really wanted to they could've cashed in on me maybe before it's got to the final year.
"Like I said, I'm going to give everything and I really do believe that I'll make it here and, sitting in front of you now, I feel confident and I believe in myself, I honestly do."
Shaw's future was already enshrouded in uncertainty before his half-time FA Cup withdrawal against Brighton in March. He only managed two more starts as Mourinho omitted Shaw from the semi-final and final squads. Was Brighton the nadir?
"I was very upset but he only does stuff like that because he knows what I can do," Shaw explains. "We’ve had this conversation. He said that he knows I can be the best, but he sometimes feels frustrated that I’m not doing that.
"He knows what I can do. That was one of the texts he sent me in the off-season. ‘I know what you can do. You can be the best but you’ve just got to work on a couple of things.' That’s why it pushes me on more. He says these things because he knows I can do it. He knows I can be a top player. He knows I can play for Manchester United.
"It’s horrible at times because people only see those things he says [in public]. That’s fine because I’m a grown man and I can take stuff like that. I'm used to it. But the stuff inside the training ground, no one sees apart from me. It still gives me confidence.
"I was unsure going into the summer what was really happening. You don’t really know what will happen this season, whether it will be the same as last season or not. One thing is for sure, I’m much fitter, more confident, and a different person than I was last season. I’ve grown and learned a lot form the situations I’ve been in. I don’t want to be in that situation again.
"The way I am, the body shape, I need to be playing games. When I’m fit, I’m so confident because you know you can do all the runs and be aggressive like the manager wants. I guess the ball is in my court now and I need to do what I know I can do."
Shaw's no baby Bentley.
