Mason Greenwood was called into the England squad last week and his selection was fully deserved.
He became the youngest player since Michael Owen in 1997/98 to score 10 or more Premier League goals in a single season last year, and that summer the Liverpool youngster went on to star at the World Cup.
So understandably England have high hopes for Greenwood. But they did not do him any favours on Monday.
What happened to keeping a low profile?
Manchester United have gone to great lengths to keep Greenwood’s profile as low as possible.
That is not easy with his talent, but United clearly want him to avoid media pressure and the trapping of fame which has been seen to blight other young players in the past.
As a result, Greenwood has been kept away from the spotlight.
United restrict him from doing any media interviews, and the only ones which do go out are pre-approved ones on the club’s own website and magazine.
So what did Gareth Southgate do on Greenwood’s first day with the England squad?
He decided to call on Greenwood of all players, to join him for a national press conference.
This was a head-scratching decision from Southgate, and Manchester United would be right to be angry about it.
Greenwood was asked about everything from new signing Donny Van de Beek, to Lionel Messi potentially playing for City, to Harry Maguire’s recent arrest. To be fair to the youngster, he handled it very well.
In some ways, being thrown in at the deep end probably won’t do Greenwood any harm, he is a level headed kid, and United will have prepared him for this behind the scenes.
Yet this was still a very naive move from Southgate, who was keen to show off his shiny new toy to the media, rather than trying to keep the pressure off him.
We have seen time and time again how the nation’s media like to build up and tear down players, and Greenwood should be protected from that.
It is almost like Southgate paid no attention to how United handled him.
After just one day on international duty, Greenwood has been let down. We should not be surprised.
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