Manchester United will be craving a return to the top echelons of the Premier League this season. After recording their worst-ever finish in Premier League history, United have more than a point to prove.

Under Ineos and new sporting director Dan Ashworth, United have moved quickly in the adding to Erik ten Hag's squad with the signings of Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro. However, with just under three weeks before their FA Community Shield meeting with Manchester City, there is still a good deal of work to be done.

Along with the need of a new central midfielder, United could also add another central defender to their ranks with Matthijs de Ligt and Jarrad Branthwaite linked. However, there are issues at left-back that need addressing.

Diogo Dalot has turned into one of United's most valuable assets and most consistent performers. Injuries to Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia meant the Portugal international was forced to be a makeshift left-back with Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the right. But with problems for fitness on the left and Wan-Bissaka linked with a move away, United could be forced into action.

Shaw's fitness concerns have been a problem for United for some time. He failed to make more than 25 appearances in his first four seasons after a combination of muscle injuries and a freak double fracture of his right leg in 2015.

Since moving to Manchester, he has missed a jaw-dropping 1,328 days of football, totaling over 3.5 years and 273 games (according to Transfermarkt). After hardly playing for Erik ten Hag's side last term, Shaw returned to action at Euro 2024 with three appearances for England.

In today's market, the ongoing desire for attacking left-backs has forced clubs to pay a premium. In fact, it's easy to pinpoint when the tide actually turned and Pep Guardiola was the culprit.

In 2017, Man City spent around PS130million on three full-backs to replace the ageing Aleksandar Kolarov, Gael Clichy, Jesus Navas, Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna.

In the seven Premier League campaigns that have followed, City have won six. Many at the time made comedic remarks about City's reckless spending on full-backs, but long-term, it has worked a treat.

This summer, the thought of signing another left-back - whether that's Ferdi Kadioglu or Miguel Gutierrez - and a new right-back seems quite far-fetched. However, with Omar Berrada moving to the red side of Manchester, United have a perfect case study of it being successful.