Manchester United: Mason Greenwood should not be rushed by England, warns Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Greenwood has scored nine goals in 26 appearances this season

Mark Critchley
Northern Football Correspondent
Tuesday 14 January 2020 06:42 EST
Comments
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: Marcus Rashford is top class after Man United win

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has appealed for patience to be shown with Mason Greenwood after the teenager’s promising start to life as a Manchester United player.

Greenwood has scored nine goals in 26 games for United, with many of those appearances coming from the substitutes’ bench.

The ease with which the 18-year-old has taken to first-team football has led some to suggest he could be a wildcard selection for England’s Euro 2020 squad.

Greenwood has already won four Under-21 caps at international level, scoring once, and Harry Kane’s hamstring injury could open up a place in Gareth Southgate’s squad.

But while Solskjaer backs Greenwood to become one of the country’s leading centre-forwards, he believes talk of senior international football is premature.

“I think Mason will have a top and long career,” Solskjaer said. “Let the boy settle in now first before we talk about England and Euros.

“His focus has to be on playing more for us, improving and when he plays more for us that’ll happen by itself.

“He’s just been picked for the Under-21s so he’s focusing on his football.”

Greenwood is not the only United striker currently impressing, with Marcus Rashford enjoying the best season of his career and Anthony Martial also returning to form.

As former United goalscorer himself, Solskjaer appears to be getting the best out of his front men but batted away praise on Tuesday.

“I don’t want credit. They’re working hard to improve their game, they’ve all done well,” he said.

“Mason’s in his first season, so to have nine goals is fantastic. Marcus is growing and improving all the time and Anthony has missed eight weeks.

“I’m impressed by them, they’re working well on finishing patterns. We want consistency and we’ll see more and more of them.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in