Manchester United's English striker Mason Greenwood runs with the ball during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on November 1, 2020. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
According to The Athletic (h/t Express), Manchester United have backtracked on their initial decision to award Mason Greenwood with a new and improved contract. With his performances from last season, the club were prepared to hand him a lucrative new deal. However, with off-field and on-field problems this season, it was pushed back for the time being.
A product of Manchester United’s famed academy, the 19-year-old forward joined the club back in 2007. He spent the next decade progressing through the ranks before being promoted to the U-18s in 2017.
It was during his spell here that he burst onto the scene. In 34 games, he scored 34 goals and assisted 9. While he was still playing for the reserves and U-18s, he was occasionally called up to the first-team.
He made his competitive debut in that iconic Champions League game against PSG and later went to make his Premier League bow that season itself. It was however in the following season that Greenwood took everyone by storm.
With very few forward options available, the English forward was thrown into the mix. Safe to say, he hasn’t looked back since then. He made the right-wing position his own and was the club’s third-highest scorer behind Rashford and Martial.
In 61 appearances for the club so far, he has scored 19 goals and assisted another 6 (source – Transfermarkt). Greenwood has progressed through the England youth teams and made his debut for the senior side this year.
With the standards set by the youngster last season, it was always a question whether he could keep going at the same rate. However, his problems this season haven’t been due to on-field problems. The forward has had a bad few months off the pitch which has directly caused his form to dip in a shocking way.
First, it was the incident in Iceland where Phil Foden and he was sent back from national duty for breaching quarantine protocols. There was also the laughing gas inhaling incident coupled with some late reporting for training issues. All these things have resulted in the player just playing over 350 minutes of competitive football this season, scoring just twice.
The club and Solskjaer are rightly worried for him because of how good he is and can be. It seems things are happening too soon for the 19-year-old who just made his first-team debut last year. We often forget that he is still just a teenager given how fast his meteoric rise has been.
Nonetheless, the club are right to delay their plans for his new contract. He already has a deal that runs till 2023 and that gives everyone the time to sort things out. With the forward coming under fire from all ends, Solskjaer needs to make sure it does not get to Greenwood.
He is one of the best players to emerge from the academy after Rashford and likely has the potential to eclipse his compatriot. Greenwood should get his head straight and do what he does best. Work hard and score goals. A new contract would sure enough follow.
