---
title: "“I would have definitely paid the fee…”: Former Manchester United defender hits out at club’s failure to sign “real deal” Shaw replacement"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/manchester-united-lewis-hall-wes-brown-transfer/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Barnaby Lane"
section: "Manchester United Transfer Rumours"
published: "2026-09-05T08:19:00Z"
modified: "2026-09-05T08:19:00Z"
---

# “I would have definitely paid the fee…”: Former Manchester United defender hits out at club’s failure to sign “real deal” Shaw replacement

[Manchester United](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/manchester-united-transfer-rumours/) enjoyed a busy summer as Michael Carrick overhauled several areas of his squad.

The [midfield was completely revamped with Carlos Baleba, Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos](https://manunews.com/blog/man-utd-transfer-news-summer-signings-ranked-from-worst-to-best/) arriving, while Karl Callow was also added as competition for Senne Lammens in goal.

One position United failed to address, however, was left-back.

The club did not bring in a long-term successor to the increasingly injury-prone Luke Shaw, and former Red Devils defender Wes Brown has now questioned that decision.

## **Brown: United Should Have Signed Hall**

Brown believes United will regret not signing Newcastle defender Lewis Hall, who emerged as their preferred left-back target during the summer.

The 21-year-old was reportedly valued at around £75 million, but Newcastle refused to consider his departure after already losing several key players.

[Speaking to Oddschecker](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f5pQqUBuT4&time_continue=483&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2F), Brown said: “You can see Lewis Hall is the real deal. He’s young and he’s definitely a player you could bring into United who would fit in really well.

“So, I would have definitely paid the fee for him. He would be a great fit. Luke is still a tremendous player but there’s always that question mark over his injury record.”

Hall remains at Newcastle, meaning United will now have to rely on their existing options at left-back while Shaw continues to deal with fitness concerns.