Links to Shaw getting stronger?

Chelsea have won the race to sign Southampton’s promising left-back Luke Shaw and have beaten off competition from both Arsenal and Tottenham, according to reports.

It’s thought that the 17-year-old is a star in the making and the perfect man to replace Ashley Cole, whose contract will be up for renewal again this time next year.

Arsenal were the club that showed an initial interest before the Blues and Spurs came to the fore but the West London club is in now in pole position to sign Shaw, a Chelsea fan, claims the Metro.

The reports says that the transfer will likely be in the value of around £10 million as Michael Emenalo continues the clubs recruitment policy ahead of the confirmation of their new manager.

If this is true then it is good news as he’s home-grown, has bags of potential and has impressed in his debut season in the Premier League. He still has a long way to go though and he could be loaned straight back to Southampton so he can continue to play regular football and continue his development.

I also think that Chelsea’s hand may have been forced here a little earlier than they wanted it to, so the interest of a competitor for the players signature could have sped things up. Andre Villas-Boas recently spoke of his admiration for the player even though he refused to comments on speculation, so either Tottenham or Chelsea look the most likely destinations for Shaw as things stand.

If he was to become a Chelsea player then I am unsure what that would mean for Ryan Bertrand, who has been a lot better than he’s been given credit for, and Patrick van Aanholt, who is perhaps even better than Bertrand and has just completed an impressive loan spell with Vitesse Arnhem in the Dutch Eredivisie.

Source: The Metro