Luke Shaw’s stock has rocketed to astronomical levels after
his second season in the Premier League with Southampton. The young English
left back, recently called up to the England squad for the World Cup, has been
turning heads all season long with a string of impressive displays. This has
naturally led to the increasing likelihood that Southampton may well lose Shaw
this summer as the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea loom.
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| Shaw looks set to leave St Mary's this summer |
However, there is reason to suggest that Saints fans should not be too disheartened by the possible departure of their prized left back, since there is one player who could be the perfect replacement: Aaron Cresswell.
Cresswell has been plying his trade at Ipswich Town for the
past three seasons and has racked up an impressive 132 league appearances
during that time. Notably, last year he did not miss one league game for the
Suffolk-based club.
Nor is Cresswell just a reliable left back who is satisfied
with doing a solid job in the Ipswich defence. In fact, he has been their most
important attacking source this season putting together some fantastic
performances with decent numbers to show for it. The Liverpudlian has notched
up 13 assists this year, the most out of any Town player and also the third
most in the Championship. He has also created a whopping total of 68 chances,
an incredible achievement for a defender. Not since Leighton Baines’ time at
Wigan has a full back been so successful in the highest tier of the football
league.
Using the Squawka ‘Comparison Matrix’ it is possible to
produce some interesting comparisons between Luke Shaw and Cresswell.
Cresswell was named in the PFA Championship team of the year
for 2013/14 and he also managed to come ninth in a list of the top ten Championship
footballers for the season. A list that is voted for by the managers in the
league. He was only one of two defenders to make it onto the list which is
notoriously dominated by attackers.
His performances have not gone unnoticed either as numerous
scouts have made the trip to Portman Road to check out the former Tranmere
Rovers man in action. Southampton, Newcastle, West Brom, West Ham and Leicester
have been keeping tabs on him to name but a few. Ipswich are not likely to
stand in the defender’s way either if he makes it clear he wants to leave this
summer even though he is contracted till 2017.
Mick McCarthy the Town manager said “Cressy might go
because there will be people interested in him,” he also added that “I’m not
one of those that’s going to say ‘He’s not going anywhere’ because that’s
bullshit because he deserves to play there (the Premier League), and if it’s
the right offer we’ll have to talk to him about it.”
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| Cresswell has been impressive for Ipswich |
The slight glitch as far as Ipswich are concerned
is that Cresswell’s former team, Tranmere, are entitled to make 20% of any
profit that Town make from the £420,000 that they bought him for. Therefore, it
would not be surprising to see Town act in a bullish manner when cutting a deal
with future prospectors and a price tag between £4-5million seems to be quite
likely. However, if you consider that Shaw may be sold for something in the
region of £25 million then it could well be a good deal.
Ipswich have an excellent history in nurturing
young talent before moving them on to the higher echelons of English football.
Proven by Connor Wickham’s recent burst of form with Sunderland, and there is
no doubt that Aaron Cresswell could replicate similar performances in the
Premier League in years to come.
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