Tottenham and Chelsea in battle for Premier League full-back? (Video)

The Express has reported that Tottenham will look to make Luke Shaw their first choice left back next season as they plan on matching Southampton’s £15million valuation of the youngster. Shaw recently revealed that he has a soft spot for Chelsea on Twitter but Spurs are looking to tempt him to White Hart Lane by offering him regular first team football. Whilst Chelsea have had a settled left back in Ashley Cole, Spurs have rotated Jan Vertonghen, Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Kyle Naughton regularly this season.

Shaw is touted to be the future England left back and any deal would be a real coup for Spurs and the Saints youngster will have seen how well Gareth Bale has done at Spurs since making the move from St Mary’s.

The 17-year-old broke into Southampton’s first eleven at the beginning of November and hasn’t looked back since. He has shown that he has a lot of potential despite his lack of positional sense at times which has caused him to make three defensive errors this season. However, that positional sense will improve as he plays more games at the highest level.

Shaw has proven to be a top class defender in his first season in the Premier League, winning 84% of his 51 tackles. Standing at 6ft1, Shaw has the perfect physique for a full back and has shown that he has the necessary pace and stamina to run up and down the wing for 90 minutes. His seven defensive actions per game show how good a defender he has been for Southampton this season.

Even going forward there is some potential, as Shaw has created 10 chances from the left hand side, providing vital width to allow Adam Lallana and Gaston Ramirez more space to play. This includes five chances created in the oppositions final third.

Shaw would be a fantastic purchase for either Chelsea or Spurs but despite his affection for Chelsea, it seems Spurs would be the better option for the young Englishman as he would get more first team football at White Hart Lane.

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