Mason Greenwood


Mason Will John Greenwood is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Manchester United and the England under-21 team.
Greenwood made his first start for Manchester United in September 2019 in a UEFA Europa League match against Astana, in which he scored becoming the club's youngest ever goalscorer in European competition at the age of.
Greenwood made his debut for England under-21 in the qualifying for the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Club career

Manchester United

Early career

Greenwood joined Manchester United at the age of six, playing at the club's development school in Halifax. After progressing through the academy ranks, he joined up with the Under-18 squad for the 2017–18 season, despite being eligible for the Under-16s, and finished as top scorer of the U18 Premier League North with 17 goals in 21 games. In May 2018, Greenwood was named Player of the Tournament as the youth side won the ICGT Trophy in the Netherlands.
In July 2018, Greenwood travelled with the first team on their pre-season tour of the United States. On 20 July, he made his non-competitive debut as a 76th-minute substitute for Luke Shaw in a 1–1 draw against Club America. He also featured in a 0–0 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes three days later. On 2 October, Greenwood signed his first professional contract with the club. In December, he was selected by José Mourinho to train with the first team ahead of their UEFA Champions League match against Valencia.
On 6 March 2019, under the management of Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Greenwood made his competitive debut as an 87th-minute substitute for Ashley Young in a 3–1 win against Paris Saint Germain in the UEFA Champions League. At the age of 17 years and 156 days, he became the second youngest player to represent the club in a European competition and the youngest ever in the Champions League era. Four days later, he made his Premier League debut from the bench in a 2–0 defeat to Arsenal to become one of the club's youngest league debutants.
On 7 May, Greenwood was named Premier League 2 Player of the Month for April. At the end of the season, Greenwood received the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award, given each year to the best player in the club's youth teams.
On 12 May, the final day of the season, Greenwood made his first senior start for the club in a 2–0 defeat to Cardiff City.

2019–20 season: First team breakthrough

On 17 July 2019, Greenwood scored his first senior goal for Manchester United in a 4–0 pre-season victory against Leeds United, and followed it up with a second in United's following friendly against Inter Milan. He began the season making substitute appearances in each of United's first four league matches, before starting their Europa League opener against Kazakhstani side Astana on 19 September; he scored the only goal of the game to become the club's youngest ever goalscorer in European competition at the age of. He then scored a week later in United's League Cup tie against Rochdale. On 29 October, Greenwood scored a late winner for the Manchester United under 21 side in an EFL Trophy match against Doncaster Rovers. On 7 November, Greenwood scored and assisted Martial, in United's 3–0 win over Partizan Belgrade, qualifying them for the knockout stages of the competition. On 24 November, Greenwood scored his first league goal in a 3–3 draw with Sheffield United. On 12 December, Greenwood scored a brace and won a penalty in the final game of the Europa League group stage against AZ Alkmaar. Manchester United won the game 4–0 and finished top of their group. He scored the equalising goal against Everton on 15 December, before scoring his last goal of the decade against Newcastle United 11 days later.
On 11 January 2020, after failing to score in 3 consecutive matches, Greenwood scored once in a 4–0 demolition of Norwich City. Fifteen days later, he scored his first FA Cup goal as United washed away Tranmere Rovers 6–0. Greenwood scored again four weeks later, in a 3–0 league win against Watford. On 12 March, he scored his fifth European goal during a 5–0 win over LASK of Austria; becoming the first teenager to score at least 5 goals in a single European season for United.
After a three-month suspension of football caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Greenwood has played in all six of United's matches as of 9 July 2020. He failed to score in the first three, but he delivered a total of four goals in the next three, including a brace in a 5–2 crushing of Bournemouth on 4 July. After that, he scored once against former European champions Aston Villa; making him only the fourth player aged below 19 to score in three consecutive Premier League appearances and the first since Francis Jeffers did so for Everton in 1999.

International career

Greenwood has represented the England under-17 team making six appearances in 2017–18 and was part of the squad in the Algarve Tournament in Portugal.
On 30 August 2019, Greenwood was included in the England under-21 squad for the first time and made his debut as a 59th-minute substitute during the 3–2 win against Turkey on 6 September 2019 in qualifying for the 2021 European Under-21 Championship. On 19 November 2019, Greenwood scored his first goal for the U21s; equalising against The Netherlands in a match which England ultimately lost 2–1.

Style of play

Greenwood began his career as a midfielder but gradually evolved into a centre forward. He often plays on the right flank for Manchester United, as well as moving more centrally to occupy as a second striker when the ball is fed into the penalty area. During his early career, several of his goals have seen him dropping a shoulder or chopping the ball to get it on to his left foot before scoring. He also often reverses his shot by aiming low for the near post from the right of the box.
In May 2018, former Manchester United player Clayton Blackmore said: "He's great on the ball and very good with both feet. He's the first person I've seen that takes penalties and free-kicks with his wrong foot. I've never come across anyone like that!" In March 2019, former academy coach Mark Senior said: "People says he's like the new Robin van Persie but I don't know. I think he's his own man. I've not seen another player like him. His style means his pace is deceptive because he is absolutely rapid."
In July 2019, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær praised Greenwood during their pre-season tour, saying: “He can play all of the front-three positions, or across the front four, as he can play number 10, number seven, number 11 and number nine. He’s a natural footballer with his left foot, coming in, but he’s got two feet and can play anywhere along the front. He’s just a natural. When he takes a penalty with his right, then takes a penalty with his left, free-kicks with his left, free-kicks with his right. He is almost what you’d call 50:50, maybe 51:49 left-footed."

Personal life

Greenwood was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire and raised in the Wibsey area of the city. His family have a background in sports; his sister, Ashton, is a track athlete.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual