After his emphatic start to the season, Manchester United wonderkid Mason Greenwood is starting to break into the starting XI. In an interview before Wednesday’s EFL cup game against Colchester, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said that “it is very difficult to put a team out there without Mason [Greenwood] in my mind”. This makes sense due to his incredible performances on some of the biggest stages in world football this season.
Mason Greenwood Starting for Manchester United
Natural Finisher
This season alone, Greenwood has managed to outscore former United players Radamel Falcao, and Angel Di Maria. Both of these players were at United for a whole season, and they were both there during their primes. They were also both prolific goal-scorers who had scored many times at their former clubs. Greenwood having outscored them in just half a season at age 18 is a true teller of his natural ability. His ability has been on-show for a long time. Solskjaer said that even when Greenwood was 7, he stood out. Apparently, Solskjaer asked Greenwood To take a picture with him as he knew that someday, the young Mancunian would become a professional player.
Good Form
Greenwood’s form this season has been tremendous, and it has not been in small games. Although the Europa league is not the biggest stage to perform on, it is important for United. With this looking their most likely route to the Champions League, every result matters. This is a league in which Greenwood has particularly shone. With a direct goal involvement every 73 minutes, Mason Greenwood is the Red Devils’ top scorer in the competition. He has opened his Premier League account, scoring two goals in 242 minutes of game time. This is impressive considering he normally comes on late on in games, and both his goals have been instrumental in United getting points from the game. He scored a late equalizer to rescue a point at Everton, and his goal against Sheffield United helped his side come back to earn a point there too.
Should He Be Starting?
With competition like Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford, greenwood’s bid to start is certainly challenging. Rashford has been basking in good form recently and is the fourth top scorer in the Premier League. Martial, however, has been struggling of late. With just two goals in his last nine games, you can see why people are starting to question him. Greenwood has slowly been getting more chances in the first team, and he has impressed whenever an opportunity arises for him to do so. The only thing holding him back is lack of experience, and this seems to be why Solskjaer has favoured Martial over Greenwood recently. Despite this, he is only 18 and learning all the time. Are we observing the rise of a world footballing superstar?
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