
London, Jan 4: 20-year-old Manchester United youngster Axel Tuanzebe got his first call-up two years back under then manager Louis Van Gaal as a squad player.
However, he took one year more to make his debut under Jose Mourinho as a 68th-minute substitute, replacing Timothy Fosu-Mensah during a 4–0 FA Cup victory over Wigan Athletic at Old Trafford.
Van Gaal during United's injury crisis period used to include many academy youngsters in a first team training and after two years at the first team roster, the versatile defender recently in an interview with United's official media house opened a chapter of his first experience of a training session.
The 20-year-old revealed that during his first training session they had to work hard to match up with the progress and physicality of first-team stars however the player which "shocked" him most him in his very first Manchester United training session was Luke Shaw.
Recalling the session, Tuanzebe told Inside United: "You don't forget the first time you train with the first team.
"It was me, Marcus Rashford and Devonte Redmond, and we went up to training. It was one of the hardest sessions I've had in my life.
"I was in the Under-18s at the time and Paul McGuinness was our manager.
"We thought we were coming along to watch but we ended up playing in a training game.
"We were a position team, the first team against us. It was so hard, it was so fast, it was physically on another level.
"I remember vividly that Luke Shaw was absolutely rapid. It shocked me that I couldn't get near him.
"He was an absolute bullet, just amazing. From that moment, I had him as a benchmark for myself, in terms of how sharp he is.
"After that session, we had seen what we had to get to. Once we'd had a taste of it, then we all wanted more and more."
Shaw has struggled for first-team football under Jose Mourinho over the past two seasons mostly because of injury reasons. But Mourinho also openly criticised player during times which speculated that the duo is having a frosty relationship and the England international could be sold in the January or Summer Window.
However, recently the left-back has made four appearances in the last five matches and his performance has gained him accolades.
Thus his recent performances could go some way to convincing Jose Mourinho to look at his merit and the player could get a long career at Old Trafford if he continues to perform on a regular basis like he is producing recently.