Man Utd Urged to Buy Player Out of Contract After Derby Disaster

Manchester United have been told to buy one of their players out of his existing contract after a disastrous display in the derby loss to Manchester City.

United lost 3-0 away at the Etihad Stadium, with Erling Haaland bagging a brace after Phil Foden opened the scoring on his return to the City side.

The Red Devils have now lost 16 games out of 31 in the Premier League under Ruben Amorim and find themselves 14th after four games of the 2025/26.

United offered barely anything in attack and were regularly exposed defensively by their rivals, with Luke Shaw not covering himself in glory with his display on the left of a back three.

The England international was arguably culpable for all three goals, starting with Foden's opener when he was twisted inside and out by Jeremy Doku.

He was bullied by Haaland as he struggled to come across for the second goal - and then his misplaced pass left Harry Maguire in a whole lot of trouble for the final third, where Haaland darted in behind to make it 3-0 with his 90th Premier League goal.

Luke Shaw had a dismal Manchester derby on Sunday. Image: Getty

Former United skipper Roy Keane slammed Shaw after the game, claiming he has "been getting away with murder for years at United".

Ex United right-back Paul Parker was similarly cutting with his assessment of the former Southampton man, stating that Shaw should no longer be at Old Trafford and his contract should be bought out allowing him to leave.

"Luke Shaw shouldn't be at the club now," Parker said, speaking exclusively to SPORTbible via football odds.

"He should have been gone from the club now. He’s been there 11 years! He shouldn't be there at this moment in time. He should not be there, but he still is, and that's where things are wrong. Give the manager a chance and pay people off, say, ‘go on, you can have that, please go’.

"Why aren't the young players coming into the side? Why isn't [Ayden] you Heaven playing there? Why isn't he being given a chance... Why are you bringing on Harry Maguire? Start with the young players, get energy there.

"Crystal Palace, the manager comes in, gets three at the back and they’re one of the best, teams in the league!

"It’s about getting the personnel right, playing to their strengths, that's what it's about. Amorim has got it completely wrong. Don't take off [Leny] Yoro, leave him on the park. If you're going to bring him off, bring on Heaven to get him a bit of experience.

"Harry Maguire's laboured, very laboured with and without the ball, even more so without the ball. He chugs more than Thomas the Tank Engine!"

Shaw has been with United since 2014, playing 290 times in a period which has been plagued by injuries.

Shaw still has a contract until 2027. Image: Getty

He made just seven appearances in the Premier League last term and made his first start in 484 days came in a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth in April.

The 30-year-old has featured in three of United's four Premier League games this season and is contracted until 2027.

Shaw told to make ideal move

But Parker believes Shaw ought to follow his former United teammates Scott McTominay and Rasmus Hojlund in moving to Serie A champions Napoli as the game would suit him better at this stage of his career.

McTominay was named the Serie A MVP of the Year last season after firing Napoli to the league title, while Hojlund opening his account 14 minutes into his debut for Antonio Conte's men at the weekend.

"Shaw should be looking at Napoli and that slower pace of game," he added.

"He can go there but everyone will come out and say we let him go too early because he's doing well at Napoli. But it's completely different football, just walking football, it's nowhere near as intense."

United are back in action on Saturday when they host Chelsea at Old Trafford, hoping to get back to winning ways.