Luke Shaw’s dietary needs have seen him go to extravagant lengths

We’ve heard of pitching in to get a cleaner in, once a week, but this is ridiculous.

Luke Shaw has his own personal chef. Well, when we say personal, he employs a chef to cook daily meals for himself and his three housemates – all friends who grew up around Kingston, London.

Shaw and his friends are all living in Manchester and chip in for the service, with the United left-back the major contributor.

“It’s much better that way. Much healthier as well,” Shaw has told The Guardian.

“Some people might think we’re always partying but it isn’t a party house. These are my best friends – I’ve known one since we were eight – and they want the best out of me.”

Private chefs can cost anything from £20,000 to £50,000 a year but the UK average is just under £29,000 per year. Last summer, Newcastle United’s Jonjo Shelvey had a company advertise on his behalf for a private chef. The posted annual salary was between £60,000 and £65,000.

Shaw is back with Manchester United and getting back to the high levels he set early last season before a double leg break left him doubting his career prospects. He has battled back to full fitness and although he says the injury, which left six inch scars down his calf, still leaves him feeling residual pains.

Part of the 21-year-old’s successful comeback programme saw him embrace a new diet.

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Earlier this year, he told Manchester Evening News about his balanced diet and how he has his meal plans mapped out days in advance.

“You need carbs when you’re getting nearer to the match and protein after to help the muscles recover quicker, but I think that you can’t always eat healthy, there’s going to be a day during the week, maybe after the game, you can have a bad snack.

“You can have maybe a chocolate bar or maybe even a takeaway once a month but it’s always got to be after the game, not during the week when you’re training towards the game.”

Shaw has come a long way from the 18-year-old who had his fitness openly questioned by ex-United boss Louis van Gaal in August 2014.

He has fought desperately hard to get back into the United starting XI. With the newly found determination, diet and a personal chef looking after all his meal needs, he is leaving no room for errors.

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