By Nathaniel Kay

'Outstanding': Luke Shaw had some kind words to say about 'really good' Chelsea player

Manchester United’s Luke Shaw hailed England teammate and Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell as the pair compete for a place at the European Championships, speaking to ITV.

Both the Premier League duo are fighting to be the first choice going into this summer’s festival of football.

Shaw started ahead of Chilwell for the Three Lion’s latest World Cup qualifying victory over Albania on Sunday.

It was the first time United’s full-back had made an international appearance since 2018, recalled by Gareth Southgate because of his excellent domestic form.

Chilwell was picked for the opening group game win over San Marino.

Southgate will now have to decide who gets the nod for England’s final competitive international fixture before the Euros as they take on Poland this Wednesday.

When asked about what it meant be back with the national squad, Shaw explained he was relishing every moment of it, even the healthy rivalry with Chilwell.  

He said: “The last two years I’ve been watching the games and regretting not being able to take my chances when I had them.

“I’m so happy to be back. Even if I’m not playing, just being around the squad is still brilliant.

“Of course, I want to be in the Euros squad. Every English player would want to. There’s very high competition.

“Chilly played the other night and was outstanding. He’s a really, really good player. Competition is great and I’ll just keep pushing myself.”

Based purely on their performances at club level, Shaw is probably just edging in front of Chilwell for that no.3 England jersey.

The Chelsea man has been in and out of Thomas Tuchel’s side, whilst United’s defender is arguably one of the first names on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team sheet.

However, Chilwell could potentially end up with a more successful season in terms of trophies than Shaw.

Tuchel could win the FA Cup and or the Champions League during his maiden term at Stamford Bridge.

United’s last chance at a trophy is the Europa League.

It will be intriguing to see who out of Chilwell and Shaw has more winners medals come June time.

Keep up to date with all the latest Chelsea news and opinion by following The Chelsea Chronicle’s Twitter account here.

Nathaniel Kay

Nathaniel is a football journalist who graduated from the University of Derby. He has worked at Burton Albion as part of their media team for two years. Nathaniel produces regular articles for the club’s official website and match-day programme. He covered the 2018 U20 Women’s World Cup in Brittany and has reported from grounds ranging from non-league up to the Premier League.