Mason Greenwood the real deal? Marcus Rashford praises Man United’s ‘frightening’ 17-year-old
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Published 18/07/2019 at 09:47 GMT
Is Mason Greenwood set for a breakthrough season at Manchester United? Marcus Rashford labelled the 17-year-old as “frightening” after he scored against Leeds United in a friendly.
Marcus Rashford with Mason Greenwood
Image credit: Getty Images
Greenwood struck his first senior goal as United eased to a 4-0 win over rivals Leeds in a pre-season friendly in Perth on Wednesday.
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was so delighted with Greenwood's contribution, he stated the youngster had played himself into contention to face Chelsea on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
"He’s got a chance to start that one, definitely,” said Solskjaer. "He’s capable, more than capable. He’ll always be there in and around the box creating chances. I won’t say that that’s not a possibility. It’s a good possibility if he keeps going as he does. It’s difficult to keep players out if they keep playing well."
Of course we’re delighted with the goal he scored. It’s important for strikers to get that goal, even though we’ve always said and know he’s capable of scoring goals. But that first goal is going to be maybe a weight off his shoulders.
Greenwood made his United debut when coming off the bench in the dramatic Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain, a victory made possible thanks to a last-minute penalty from Rashford – the man who could well take Greenwood under his wing…
Rashford’s glowing report
Rashford knows a thing or two about coming through the ranks at Manchester United and breaking into the first team.
The 21-year-old burst onto the scene in 2016 when scoring twice on his debut against Midtjylland in the Europe League, doing so again in his Premier League debut against Arsenal just days later.
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Marcus Rashford scored on his Premier League debut against Arsenal in 2016
Image credit: Reuters
Now an England regular, Rashford was gushing in his praise for Greenwood, calling the youngter’s natural abilities “frightening”.
Rashford said: “I said to him, ‘Once you get the first goal, the rest will come naturally’. That goal is nothing but instinct. You can tell he’s a natural finisher, that’s what he’s best at. So for him, he doesn’t have to change anything, he’ll come into the team, do his stuff and he’ll score goals. That’s what he does.
"It's definitely a nice thing (that I have been through what he’s now going through). For him, you have to understand people's characteristics. He's quite a laidback person so I think for him it's no good putting things in his head constantly and repeatedly.
He's a clever kid so he'll learn it as he goes, but, yeah, his natural abilities are frightening. The manager is obviously doing a good job in sort of guiding him in the right direction and the more you do that, his talent with just come through.
In Rashford, Greenwood arguably has the ideal mentor as he approaches what could be a breakthrough season. Dare United fans get excited?
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