Ten Hag reveals why Luke Shaw has been playing as a centre-back

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has spoken on his decision to convert Luke Shaw into a makeshift centre-back recently

The Red Devils are missing some of their natural central defenders since the World Cup break.

Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire have both struggled with illness, Raphael Varane made his return on December 27 after reaching the final with France, and Lisandro Martinez has only just returned to Carrington.

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Following the development, Shaw has started in the centre of defence during Premier League wins against Nottingham Forest and Wolves.

Speaking during a pre-match press conference, ten Hag revealed the reason why he decided to play Shaw in CB

“Of course, you have your ideas and a plan but sometimes it changes by circumstances like the illnesses for Harry and Victor,” he said.

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“Normally, they start in the games we have just played, but then Casemiro did well as a centre half [against Burnley] and then Luke Shaw did very well against Nottingham Forest.

“Also, you look at the game plan, the way we had to approach Wolves, and I thought it was the best match with Rapha and Luke. Especially we knew the speed of Wolves from the right side and we could cover that because we wanted to attack over the left side with our offensive game from Tyrell Malacia.

“That was a good fit and also in possession you can have better angles with the left foot.“