Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has insisted that he has no problem with Luke Shaw talking up his relationship with Mauricio Pochettino.
The England full-back opened up on his close bond with Pochettino during their time time together at Southampton, admitting that he would like to one day reunite with the now-Tottenham Hotspur boss.
Rather than criticise out-of-favour Shaw for his comments, published in new book Brave New World: Inside Pochettino's Spurs, Mourinho has instead praised the 22-year-old and revealed that a new contract could still be offered.
"If you want to speak about his words I would be very disappointed if his words were different," he told reporters. "I am always disappointed when a player, because he has a new manager, the new manager becomes the best and the old manager becomes very bad, and football is full of examples of lack of character. Luke Shaw was just honest.
"The manager that helped him to come to the first, to come to the best moment of his career is a manager that do not forget he likes a lot and that maybe one day he would be reunited again so for me the perfect words that show Luke Shaw character in relation to the people that he happy with.
"He has a future here - I think he has - but the situation is not easy because he comes from injury after injury after injury. He needs two, three, four, five or six matches in a row to play, to make mistakes, to get condition, to get match fitness and I cannot give him that.
"In this moment I can't give him that. If he was a midfield player, central midfielder player, then yes, because we only have two left backs we have so many options, so the situation is not easy."
Shaw, rumoured to have had a falling out with Mourinho, has featured for a combined 48 minutes in all competitions so far this season across his two outings.
Daniel Lewis
