England young gun Luke Shaw to join Manchester United by weekend in big-money move: report

LUKE Shaw is poised to become the most expensive teenage footballer of all time, with Manchester United set to sign him for $54.75 million.

LUKE Shaw is poised to become the most expensive teenage footballer of all time, with Manchester United set to sign the England international for $54.75 million from Premier League rivals Southampton.

VAN GAAL ERA STARTS WITH HERRERA ARRIVAL

Luke Shaw is heading to Old Trafford in a record-setting deal.

A report published on the Daily Telegraph website the 18-year-old Shaw is due to undergo a medical in Manchester on Saturday (EST).

The proposed arrival of Shaw at Old Trafford comes after United completed their first signing since Louis van Gaal - coaching the Netherlands at the World Cup - was confirmed as their new manager when midfielder Ander Herrera joined from Athletic Bilbao for a reported $52 million.

The Saints defender made his World Cup debut in a goalless draw against Costa Rica earlier this week - England’s last match of Brazil 2014 after defeats by Italy and Uruguay.

Shaw had also attracted interest from Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

Were he to leave the south coast club, it would be another stage in the break-up of a promising Southampton side, who finished eighth to United’s seventh on last season’s EPL ladder.

England striker Rickie Lambert has already left for Liverpool, with midfielder Adam Lallana, his club and international teammate, set to do likewise.

Luke Shaw impressed in his only action in Brazil against Costa Rica.

While eighth place was considered an impressive finish for a club of Southampton’s stature, seventh was considered wholly unacceptable for United, who started the season as champions of England but ended the campaign having failed to qualify for the Champions League and also the second-string Europa League.

Once Champions League qualification was no longer a mathematical possibility, United sacked David Moyes and briefly installed club legend Ryan Giggs as caretaker before appointing the experienced van Gaal.

After the Costa Rica match, it was suggested to left-back Shaw, who would be competing for a starting place with Patrice Evra were he to join United, that he needed to be playing Champions League football to feel truly at home on the world stage.

Clearly, that would be denied him for at least one season were he to join United, but Shaw said: “You can’t really say that because you look at the other teams and they haven’t all got Champions League players, have they?”