‘Thomas Tuchel will axe Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly for Man United star’ – ‘100%’
Thomas Tuchel will drop Myles Lewis-Skelly from the England team in favour of a Man United star on one condition, says Tim Sherwood.
Lewis-Skelly was the standout performer for England in the 2-0 win over Albania on Friday evening (21 March), scoring on his Three Lions debut, and starts again against Latvia.
The 18-year-old has enjoyed a breakout campaign for Arsenal this year, often appearing ahead of the more experienced summer signing Riccardo Calafiori, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and the Celtic-bound Kieran Tierney.
Questions still remain on what Lewis-Skelly’s best position is, having come through the Hale End academy as a central-midfielder.
However, despite his impressive performances, things change quickly in football and with the 2026 World Cup in North America still a year-and-a-half away, a surprise candidate has been suggested by Sherwood to start ahead of the 18-year-old.
Luke Shaw could displace Myles Lewis-Skelly as England’s starting left-back
Speaking on Sky Sports News (22 March), Paul Merson waxed lyrical on Lewis-Skelly’s performance.
In spite of also being impressed, ex-Tottenham manager, Sherwood, was quick to point out that Tuchel has not been brought in to develop England’s young talents and if a more experience option existed, such as Luke Shaw, the German manager would be quick to call on him if he felt it would boost the chances of winning the World Cup.
Sherwood said: “I wouldn’t bank on it [Lewis-Skelly being the left-back at the 2026 World Cup] the way the manager’s set his stall out.
“He’s got no worries about bringing the old guard back in.
| 2024/25 Stats in all competitions | Shaw |
| Appearances | 3 |
| Starts | 0 |
| Goals | 0 |
| Assists | 0 |
| Minutes | 98 |
“If Luke Shaw gets hisself fit, 100% in my opinion he’s the best left-back we have.
“He finds the game so easy, but he’s always injured, always injured!”
Michael Dawson then suggests Ben Chilwell as an option, to which Sherwood responds: “I think Shaw is ahead of him, if he gets hisself back fit in time for that World Cup, he’ll have no problems putting him in the squad and putting him in the team.
“He’s not interested in developing young players for the future, that’s not his remit, his remit is an 18-month contract to win the World Cup.”
Luke Shaw faces difficulties regaining England and Man United starting role
Football Insider Verdict
There is no doubting Shaw remains one of the best left-backs in the Premier League, but his inability to stay fit makes the prospect of him featuring for England any time soon an unlikely one.
Having appeared for United just three times this season and just 18 times in all competitions since last season, the former Southampton man is somewhat of an enigma at this point.
Shaw bounced back excellently after criticism from Jose Mourinho when the Portuguese manager was in charge at Old Trafford, putting in some world-class performances.
The England international even scored England’s opener in the final of the loss to Italy in Euro 2021, his performances even convinced Gareth Southgate to include him in the Euro 2024 squad.
However, it seems that both his club and country are moving on, with Patrick Dorgu signed to replace him in Manchester and a number of options, including Lewis-Skelly and Lewis Hall being above him in the pecking order for the national team.