Luke Shaw on Tour 2018.

Luke Shaw is raring to go ahead of the new season

Wednesday 08 August 2018 14:15

With the Premier League season just days away, Luke Shaw is ready to be called upon by Jose Mourinho and the left-back is confident this Manchester United squad can mount a serious title challenge.

Shaw is expected to feature against Leicester City on Friday night following a number of encouraging appearances over the summer.

In an interview at the Aon Training complex this week, the 23-year old defender spoke confidently and optimistically about the campaign ahead.

"It was a very tough but beneficial pre-season," Luke told us. "We know what we are capable of so I think everyone is looking forward to just getting out there and enjoying the Premier League again.

"Once you play a couple of pre-season games, you just want the league to start. We want the competitive matches to come around and we want to do something good this year, so we're all raring to go and looking forward to it."

'This can be a good season for us' Video

'This can be a good season for us'

Luke Shaw is raring to go after a good pre-season, and has high hopes for the season ahead…

United only face one top-six rival in the opening eight games of the new campaign, with the Reds hosting Tottenham Hotspur at the end of August. That provides the squad with an opportunity to come out firing and lay down a statement of intent to the rest of the league.

After Jose Mourinho bolstered his squad over the summer by signing young defender Diogo Dalot, Brazil international Fred and back-up goalkeeper Lee Grant, Shaw believes that United will be more than a match for rivals this campaign.

"We all know how important a quick and fast start would be," said Luke. "We want three points straight away and you look at our fixtures at the start of the season, we want maximum points and we want to keep getting points during the whole season.

"I feel this season we can do it," Shaw added. "I feel this season we are really strong. You've got people coming back off the back of good World Cups, the spirits are high, so everyone is looking forward to it and this could be a good season for United."

The squad has been boosted ahead of Friday's Premier League opener, after Phil Jones, Victor Lindelof and Marcus Rashford all returned in the friendly at Bayern Munich last weekend.

Shaw believes that desire to pull on the red shirt could lead to them featuring at Old Trafford against Leicester.

"We have, I feel, an amazing squad with depth and I think the players will bring quality in their own ways," Luke opined.

"They've come back now and it wouldn't surprise me to see them involved on Friday, because everyone wants to play the first game of the season and help the team build something special this season."

Our record against the Foxes
says

United have won 64 of 126 competitive matches against Leicester City, also drawing 29 and losing 33, which equates to a 51 per cent win ratio.

Shaw himself is expected to be in United's squad after featuring in every single pre-season game. The defender is eager to get back on the pitch and show the fans what he is capable of.

"I feel really good and I'm really ready to go for the starting game on Friday and I'm ready for the season," he told us.

"In terms of playing games and getting the minutes in, this has been my best pre-season. I know I can be better, but the main thing is  getting the minutes and I feel I've had enough minutes to feel fresh and ready for the game on Friday."

United v Leicester kicks off at 20:00 BST on Friday.