According to this mornings Daily Express Manchester United are preparing a bid for Ryan Bertrand, but could this mean a return to St Mary's for Luke Shaw.

The Old Trafford club are being rumoured to be looking to prise Ryan Bertrand away from St Mary's, although the reality is that Saints will turn down all bids in January.

However they may find it hard to resist n the summer, but they will be looking for top dollar from United before they are tempted to sell.

This could mean that United will look to a cash plus player deal and the player in question could be Luke Shaw whose career has nosedived since leaving St Mary's in the summer of 2014.

If Bertrand was to move to Old Trafford his fee would almost certainly have to match the £30 million that took his predecessor Shaw to Old Trafford.

That would leave Shaw surplus to requirements at United with the Red Devils looking to offload him.

The problem that they would have is that by the summer of 2016 Shaw will have been out of action for almost a year with a broken leg, there is a slight chance he could return for the final games of this season and he will be keen to do so given that next year is European Championship year, but if he is forced out till nest season then when he returns he could find that not only has Ryan Bertrand nicked his England place, but also on the verge of his Old Trafford one.

The issue Manchester United would have in selling Shaw is that few clubs would have the clout for either his wages or his transfer fee, but a deal with Saints for Bertrand could allow some trading to go on.

Shaw himself might be very reluctant to leave Old Trafford, but he may find that he is out in the cold and "encouraged" to move on, his time there has not been successful and been blighted by injury and questions have been asked about his overall ability to fit into United's system of playing due to his pace or lack of it over distance and his crossing ability.

With the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea etc being unlikely to be interested, it might not suit Shaw to take a backwards step, but it could be in his long term interests and that could see his return to the South Coast.

This is of course very speculative, but no more speculative than most other rumours, these days the Premier League and indeed football in general is a very fluid system and players and managers rarely stay at clubs longer than 2-3 years.

Photo: Action Images

bstokesaint added 12:37 - Dec 10 Speculative or not I don't want to see Shaw back. If he's injury prone for someone else then we certainly don't want him. Ryan's attitude has been spot-on since "moving down" from Chelski to further his career and both he and the club have reaped the dividends. He's actually been one of the few conistently good performers this year and I personally have felt from Day 1 with Saints that he's a better player than Luke Shaw.

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SaintNick added 12:39 - Dec 10 I agree with you, Bertrand is a better left back than Shaw
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simmo400 added 12:53 - Dec 10 Nick you must be really bored to start this rumour off. This has as much truth about it as me growing hair and ive been bald for 30 years.
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Pulse added 12:53 - Dec 10 I can't see us letting ryan go, and to be honest, the talk from the club etc is of keeping players now. Because of pervious selloffs I believe it is automatically assumed we will sell. Lets wait and see
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simmo400 added 13:02 - Dec 10 I feel sorry for Bertrand as he is often left 2 v 1 because of Tadic out of position and daydreaming of crossing the ball away from the opposition goalkeeper and on Pelle' s head. Dream on Tadic and keep focused when were defending. Rant Over.
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SaintNick added 13:06 - Dec 10 simmo, the rumour wasnt started by me, the express are claiming that United are after bertrand, if they do then Shaw is surplus to requirements and i just speculated as to where he might go
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halftimeorange added 13:12 - Dec 10 This will never happen. Luke Shaw might never again be the same player he was when we sold him and who's to know what the mental effect of that broken leg will have on him. I'm afraid that rather like Jay Rodrigues Shaw's future is doubtful at best. Ryan Bertrand is currently our best player in terms of consistency. If we sell him it will be for megabucks and a vulnerable Luke shaw won't be part of the deal.

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IWOZTHERE added 14:49 - Dec 10 Off we go again! I've just come to terms with VW going but still hoping we can keep Mane. Now this.... although I thought it was only a matter of time.It makes you think 'what's the flaming point.' Speculation or not, is Bertrand now going to be unsettled and underperforming or if he plays well just playing for a move? I know I'm over-reacting, but clubs should have more protection,'the tail shouldn't be wagging the dog!' and a players value shouldn't directly relate to the remaining time on his contract. A club like ours is often forced to sell players because of this ridiculous system or make a stand and be at the mercy of the player while his value diminishes (to the player's advantage!) From the supporters' perspective : The days of club idols, legends, Mr Southampton etc, are fast disappearing. We used to identify with players (and the odd manager). It was part of the joy of going to Football. The big money, greed and cynicism is ruining a lot of that. Obviously none of this is aimed at Bertrand, It just sparked off a rant!

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TimSaint added 15:57 - Dec 10 Pelle, Vic and now Bertrand !! Fonte was going but signed a new contract Just a matter of time before VvD is linked with a move to someone, as with Fraser once he is back in Jan - and it will still be in the window !! All speculation though and Ron has said nobody is for sale in January, so why the press keep persisting is beyond me !!
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simmo400 added 19:58 - Dec 10 Everyone is for sale let's not kid ourselves here.
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BUCK added 22:00 - Dec 10 Absolute load of rubbish. Can anyone honestly see Shaw going from 150 grand a week back to 50. Not a chance in hell
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SaintBrock added 15:32 - Dec 11 Ryan signed a five year contract last year. He said he loves it here and why not, we got him his England place. All the rest is tosh!
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