Manchester United fans think highly of Mason Greenwood. The quality that he possesses makes him popular amongst the fans. Manchester United fans believe that Greenwood is a generational talent. This article debates whether Greenwood is a generational talent.
Greenwood’s team mates think highly of his finishing
Many players who have played with Mason Greenwood believe he is an amazing finisher. Manchester City starlet Phil Foden named him as the best finisher he has seen. Greenwood and Foden have represented England at both senior and youth levels. Scott McTominay had this to say about him “He is a talent that comes along every 10 years – but I’d probably say longer, he’s that good, the way he finishes, the way he moves.”
Paul Pogba is another who heaped praise on Greenwood, dubbing him the best finisher he’s ever played with. A hugely respectable list including big names such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema and Carlos Tevez.
Even Sir Alex Ferguson told Ian Wright that Mason Greenwood is “One of the best they’ve ever had out of their academy.” It doesn’t get any more complimentary than that!
Greenwood’s first season at the club
Mason Greenwood scored 17 goals in his first season at Manchester United. Scoring 17 goals is a huge amount in your first season as a professional footballer especially when he was just 17 at the start of the campaign. Scoring 17 goals are impressive because he didn’t start for half of the season. Other players such as Messi and Ronaldo have not had as good a first season as Greenwood. He is scoring goals in the Premier League while others have not at this age.
Greenwood’s rise during the academy
Greenwood played for the u18s when he joined in 2018. During his time at the u18s, he scored 31 goals and got nine assists in 30 games. Greenwood’s good form meant that he got promoted to the u23s. During his time at the u23s, he scored four and assisted two in seven games. His first game in the senior team came against Paris Saint-Germain in the 18/19 season. He featured against Arsenal and West Ham before starting against Cardiff in the final match of the 18/19 season. He had trained with the senior team regularly that season but only recieved his debut when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over a caretaker manager.
Needs to work on his headers
Headers is one of the weakest aspects of his game. Heading the ball is vital for a number nine. Solskjaer had this to say on Greenwood’s heading ability ”For him to be a number nine though, he needs to learn how to head the ball.”
”I keep telling him that and, if he wants to do that, he’s welcome to come practice with me.” Solskjaer had previously talked about his inability to head the ball in December 2020. The signing of Ronaldo should help him when it comes to headers as Greenwood has only scored one goal with his head so far.
Needs to work on his crossing
Greenwood likes to cut in and shoot instead of crossing the ball. He likes to cut in and shoot because he is a natural number 9 and an amazing finisher. Not being able to cross is a problem because Ronaldo scores a lot of headers. If he learns to cross more, Ronaldo will score even more goals.
Conclusion
Mason Greenwood is a generational talent because of his finishing. He is the best finisher at the club. However, he can still develop. Greenwood needs to learn to cross the ball instead of shooting because Ronaldo will get on the end of crosses. He also needs to work on his headers if he wants to become a better player.
