Back when Southampton appeared to be on the rocks as clubs picked off valuable assets, every transfer out appeared to be another dagger to the heart.
That seemed especially acute when it came to academy products like Luke Shaw.
The 19-year-old had been a part of Southampton's excellent youth ranks since the age of 8, and having developed into an England standard player, he flew the coop.
At least the Saints could console themselves with €38M in the bank and an impressive replacement in Ryan Bertrand, while fitness issues surrounding the attacking left-back was a cause for worry for Man United boss Louis Van Gaal.
Injuries have hampered Shaw's early Reds career and will also keep him out of tonight's match. But what can the stats reveal about his tentative first steps at Old Trafford?
Going forwards is clearly Shaw's major asset with rampages down the flank, but seven games in he has only created five chances for United. Then again, one must not forget that he provided just one assist for Southampton in the entirety of 2013/14 when he was being lauded to the rooftops.
However, it is early days yet in that regard and one must not forget that he is still a developing teenager.
His cross success rate at present is about 18 per cent which is solid but not spectacular. But that is also dependent on the movement of midfield runners and the United forwards as much as Shaw's own accuracy from the boot.
Passing is quite solid at an 83 per cent success rate, although almost half of his passes go backwards which is similar to Rafael on the other flank.
Defensively, he has won 83 per cent of his tackles, but there is just one interception to his name which may point to the concerns voiced about his positioning. However, one can also read too much into that number as the average stat will be higher for teams who command less possession and tend to be at the other end of the table.
As for his zones of influence, last time he played a full 90 minutes which was against Crystal Palace, his Squawka heat map (where his touches and match action took place) looked a little like this and featured just two crosses:
For more excellent Premier League, Champions League and European football stats and graphics from Squawka, visit Squawka.com
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