Former Southampton chief Les Reed has revealed how he managed to secure far more money than anyone at the club anticipated when they agreed to sell Luke Shaw to Manchester United in 2014. The left-back completed his move to Old Trafford for £30million, making him the world's most expensive teenage footballer at the time.
Reed's revelation
Speaking on the Fozcast podcast, Reed explained how the eventual fee left his own colleagues stunned. He said: "I met with Ed Woodward for the Luke Shaw transfer. I came back to the Southampton offices and my office is on the same floor as the finance director and the chief executive. And they had their doors open and we were chatting. They've both gone, 'So, how much [did you sell him for]?' And I went, 'Go on, guess.' So the finance director said £12m and the CEO said, 'Nah nah, more than that. £15m.' And I said, 'Nah, you're both wrong. £30m.' I thought I've done pretty well there."
Southampton's academy success
The transfer is still Southampton's biggest-ever academy sale, with Shaw progressing through the club's renowned youth ranks before breaking into the senior side at St Mary's while still in his teens. Reed oversaw the departure during an eight-year stint at Southampton, having initially joined as Head of Football Development and Support before later stepping into the role of Vice-Chairman.
Across that period, from 2010 to 2018, he helped broker a string of major outgoing transfers involving players such as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Calum Chambers, Morgan Schneiderlin, Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk. Those deals alone generated almost £250m for the south coast club.
Shaw's United career
Shaw went on to become an integral player for both Manchester United and England, developing into one of Europe's standout left backs and, for a time, vindicating the sizeable investment United made to bring him to Old Trafford. His career, however, has regularly been interrupted by fitness problems. Across his 12 seasons with United, the defender has failed to reach 13 Premier League appearances in five separate campaigns because of recurring injury setbacks.
Now 31, Shaw is in the final year of his United contract and is widely expected to depart Old Trafford next summer, with no discussions over an extension currently under way. Michael Carrick's side are also looking at potential long-term successors, with Newcastle defender Lewis Hall among their leading targets.
