Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has backed teenager Mason Greenwood to ‘go all the way’ after coming through a tough spell earlier on this season at Manchester United.
The hugely talented forward made his debut for the club as a late substitute in the remarkable Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes back in March 2019, before going on to become a first-team regular the following the season.
The 2019/20 campaign saw Greenwood emerge as one of the Premier League‘s hottest young prospects, the Englishman going on to net an impressive 17 goals in all competitions, becoming the club’s youngest ever goalscorer in Europe, following his goal in the Europa League against Astana at the age of just 17 years and 353 days.
While he has been involved just as regularly this term, the youngster has found goals much harder to come by with only seven to his name, including just three in the Premier League, while he’s also slipped out of the England reckoning ahead of the European Championship’s this summer following his early-season indiscretion in Iceland.
That being said, recent weeks have been much improved from the 19-year-old, the forward finding the net and providing an excellent assist in Manchester United‘s 3-1 win over Tottenham last weekend, with Solskjaer revealing that he’s benefitted after coming through a ‘difficult patch’.
“Mason has physically matured, mentally matured, he’s tactically matured and, technically, we know how good he is anyway. He will score goals, no worries about that,” Solskjaer told Sky Sports.
“He’s learned from Edinson [Cavani], been under the spotlight more, scrutinised more, learned how to live up the expectation and standards of Manchester United and I think he has coped with the demands really well.
“He’s come through a difficult patch and worked so hard to improve his game. It’s lovely to see boys that really want to be better and get their rewards for hard work.”
Greenwood’s display against Spurs was just the latest reminder of his incredible talent, as he came off the bench to make the telling difference in a crucial fixture.
Solskjaer was of course no stranger to making an impact off the bench during his playing days, and the Norwegian has backed the Bradford born forward to reach the top.
“He can go all the way,” he added. “That goal and assist was maybe Mason’s way of maybe telling me I should have started him! I’ve been in that situation myself.
“When you’re a sub, don’t let it get you down, just make sure you are a team player. If you play for 20 minutes, you have 20 minutes to make 90 minutes work. That is what Mason did on Sunday, hopefully he will produce the game against Burnley.”
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