Gary Neville has tipped Mason Greenwood to go on and be a real star for Man Utd after making an impressive breakthrough under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer thus far.
The 18-year-old has made 36 appearances for the senior side this season, scoring 12 goals and providing four assists. While he has featured prominently in the Europa League and cup competitions, he’s largely been used as a substitute in the Premier League as Solskjaer looks to gradually integrate him.
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It’s seemingly part of the strategy at United now as they put together a long-term plan, with the likes of Greenwood and Brandon Williams getting a chance in the first team and a number of other youth products pushing to make a breakthrough too.
However, Neville is particularly excited about Greenwood it seems, as he has tipped him to go on and become a real star for the Red Devils, as he believes that given the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, it could lead to more and more clubs looking to their respective youth systems for solutions if they can’t go out and splash big money on new signings.
“I think youth systems and producing your own players in the next two or three years will be the lifeblood of clubs,” he told Sky Sports. “I think Mason Greenwood is an outstanding player, the equal of Rashford at his age, in some ways more composed and a bit more classy, less raw, he looks well above his age group in terms of his composure and his temperament.
“I think Manchester United have got a real star there. We’ve been wrong before, you talk about Adnan Januzaj, I thought he was going to be world-class, but I think Greenwood is going to be the real thing.
“I was surprised when you said he’d only started four league games, and he’s really done well in most of them. Some tough games, he’s been thrown in at the deep end, and he’s done fantastic. I’m looking forward to seeing him because he’s a special talent.”
Time will tell if he does kick on and become a star, as Neville is fair in his assessment and balanced his own argument by noting that they were perhaps a bit premature in tipping Januzaj to be a top player.
Greenwood has a long way to go to get to the level that he’s perhaps capable of, as he needs to produce week in and week out to put real pressure on the likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial to keep their places in the starting XI.
Nevertheless, from what we’ve seen thus far, there is certainly a talented player there, and it will be down to Solskjaer and his coaching staff too to ensure that they get the best out of him and develop his talent in the right way.