A natural scorer. The best finisher at
That's just some of the praise that has been aimed at Mason Greenwood over the past few months — and he is still only 18.
So how does the
“You’ve just got to be level-headed, really,” Greenwood said Tuesday. “You can’t let too much get to you.”
The latest step in the extraordinary rise of the teenage forward came last week when he was selected by
“I was over the moon,” Greenwood said from England’s training base in a rare appearance in front of the media.
“My dad is level-headed and it kept me down, really. He was just excited for me. My whole family was. It’s a dream come true.”
The reality is that Southgate just could not ignore him.
In his breakthrough year at United last season, Greenwood made 50 appearances and scored 18 goals. Up until the suspension of football in March, he was mainly used as a substitute in the
In United’s last seven league games, Greenwood scored five goals and continues to show rare finishing ability with both his right and left foot. He is so two-footed that it is hard to know which is his stronger side — it is his left, just — while the technique and power behind his shots has sparked comparisons with
Repeatedly described by his manager at United, former striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as “one of the best finishers I’ve seen,” the praise went up a notch in July when
“I think in 12 or 13 years’ time, we could be talking about the
Next on the list is
“He is a natural scorer, good with both feet, a taker of chances, calm in front of goal,” Rooney said in his column in The Sunday Times newspaper last week. “He is probably the best finisher at United already at the age of 18 and in goal scorers you can just see it from day one —
Given the blossoming of Greenwood and another Manchester-born talent, 20-year-old Man City midfielder
“It’s good to see the young lads come through and push for places,” Greenwood said.
“I feel ready to compete with anyone really,” he added. “Like in the
Indeed, that’s the message Greenwood got from Southgate when he linked up with the
Inevitably, Greenwood was asked how excited he would be to share a pitch with
“It would be amazing to even come up against him because obviously all young footballers know about Messi,” Greenwood said, his eyes lighting up. “To be on the same pitch playing against him would be like another dream come true.”
Young footballers in
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