Paul Scholes Holds Nothing Back on Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire in Brutally Honest Interview

Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire should have left Manchester United in the summer, according to Paul Scholes, who delivered a no-nonsense assessment of the pair during an interview with SPORTbible.

All eyes were on United and their recruitment strategy after they finished 15th in the Premier League last season – a campaign that was widely regarded as one of the worst in the club's modern history.

In total, United spent around £215 million on transfers, with Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Diego Leon, Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens arriving before the window slammed shut.

They also raised £64 million from departures as Alejandro Garnacho and Antony left on permanent deals, but Scholes thinks that figure should have been higher with the sales of Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire.

Speaking to SPORTbible after filming the first episode of The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, the former United midfielder brought up the pair as he spoke about Ruben Amorim's much-talked-about system.

“I don’t think the system was the problem against Manchester City. It’s more the personnel," he said after United fell to a 3-0 defeat in the Manchester derby.

"United lack real athletes. In the Premier League, you almost have to be like a machine to survive and we’ve got people like Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw. They are not at the level."

Scholes added: "In 85 to 90 per cent of games, they will probably cope with people, but when you come to the bigger games, against City, Liverpool and Arsenal, they are going to fall short.”

Shaw and Maguire should have been sold in the summer, according to Scholes. Image credit: Getty

Shaw has lost several years of his career to injury. In fact, the defender has suffered 29 injuries during his time at Old Trafford, resulting in more than 1,600 days out injured, according to Transfermarkt.

Ruben Amorim has previously described Shaw as a "world-class" player. "You can feel it in the small things; when he touches the ball, the ability to play one against one," he added.

But Scholes believes the England international should no longer be at the club.

“You think of the injuries Shaw has had. He must have the body of a 40-year-old man because he’s had that many injuries and missed that much football," the former midfielder said.

"If he’d stayed fit, he could’ve been the best left-back in the world. Now, he’s playing left-sided centre-half. He really shouldn’t be at the club anymore. He should have left along with Harry Maguire in the summer," continued Scholes. "United should have brought in one or two new centre-halves."

After watching the pair play in Sunday's Manchester derby, he added: "They can’t cope physically in these bigger games. As soon as they brought Maguire on, I thought, 'Haaland must be rubbing his hands here'."

Harry Maguire, meanwhile, enjoyed somewhat of a comeback arc towards the end of last season and was arguably one of United's standout performers in those final weeks.

But Scholes believes the club should have cashed in on their former captain.

"Maguire has had so much stick, it’s hard to be tough on him because he came back from it. But I think they had a chance this summer to sell," he said. "They renewed his one-year option. I just didn’t understand that.

"It was a great chance for him to leave. They might have got £20 or £30 million for him. It was the ideal time. Maybe because he’s good in the dressing room, or good around the place, but football-wise, it’s just not right.”

Maguire and Shaw featured for England at Euro 2024. Image credit: Getty

The Kobbie Mainoo conundrum and what's going wrong

Scholes and his former teammate Nicky Butt, who is also part of the The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, also spoke about Kobbie Mainoo and his role under Amorim.

“He needs the right partner," said Scholes. "Nicky worked with him as a kid and will know more, but he's a central midfielder who needs the right person next to him. I’m not sure that person is at the club.”

Butt added: “I don’t think he's ever going to fit in a midfield two. If he's in a three, he’d definitely be one of the advanced two. It's said he hasn’t got the legs to go box-to-box, but I think he has the legs to burst over 10–15 yards. He can accelerate past players.

"For me, he’s an 8 or a 10 – higher up the pitch – not in a two, and certainly not in a two with someone else who can’t cover ground.”