The 19-year-old is poised to become the highest-paid teenager in world football once a fee is agreed between the two Premier League clubs.
This is information obtained by Goal.com, who understand Chelsea pulled out of the race to sign the full-back when they discovered the Red Devils were planning to offer the youngster a five-year contract worth £8 million-a-year.
However, Southampton insist they will not allow any of their in-demand players to leave St. Mary’s until they appoint a new manager. Their former boss Mauricio Pochettino left the south-coast club last month in order to become the new head coach at Tottenham.
Shaw, though, has made his intentions crystal clear to his current employers. The £27m-rated defender told Southampton on the final day of the 2013/14 season that he wanted to join the Premier League giants, who will not play European football next term after finishing seventh in the table.
A lack of Champions League – or Europa League – football has not deterred Shaw from wanting to make the move to Old Trafford, however. Neither has the fact Manchester United’s veteran left-back Patrice Evra recently signed a one-year contract extension.
New United boss Louis van Gaal is hopeful that several signings will be completed while he takes charge of the Netherlands at the World Cup finals in Brazil, which get underway on Thursday. And it seems Shaw could be the first new face through the doors of Old Trafford after the showpiece international tournament reaches its conclusion.
Written by Steve Milne
