Mason Greenwood has had a tricky stop-start season so far. It is not helped by constant media sniping.
It all started with Greenwood’s call up to the England squad. The youngster did not handle it well and ended up being sent home after breaching Covid protocol.
This put a media target on his back, but Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate invited it too by putting him front and centre for the first press conference, after United had spend the past 18 months shielding him from the press.
Since then it has been open season on Greenwood. In October, The Times reported the youngster had been warned by United over his discipline.
The Athletic report this week that United are concerned Greenwood is not making the sacrifices he needs to become a top player, even going as far to say that he is not getting enough rest.
What would be really nice, is if United could keep all of this in-house and stop all leaks to the press.
Greenwood may well be going through a tough learning curve. He has been used inconsistently this season amid shifting tactical patterns by United.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has not picked him to start on the right wing since the home loss to Tottenham, but he has shown faith by selecting him as a starter up front against RB Leipzig. This was trust Greenwood repaid with his first Champions League goal.
Greenwood was not in the squad at the weekend at Everton. The Times reported this was because of a lack of application in training.
Stop the whispers
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer voiced his frustration at the quick turnaround between matches this past week.
If Greenwood was not at 100 per cent then this is something he must learn from.
United have a duty to stop this kind of story reaching the media. As soon as the press latch onto something like this, the sharks circle and more stories pop up. In the end it becomes impossible to tell fact from fiction.
Greenwood is one of England’s top young talents. He has already made the top 20 Golden Boy shortlist across Europe.
United’s official website reported this week how Greenwood won the rising star award at the North West Football Awards.
Greenwood deserves to be celebrated. He scored 17 goals last season, a tally which was equal to debut seasons at the club from Wayne Rooney and George Best.
The young forward cannot rest on his laurels, and United have to snap him out of any sort of complacency he may be drifting into. His talent cannot go to waste.
We have to believe that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will make the right decisions by Greenwood. He has done so up until now.
United just have to stop the media sinking their teeth into Greenwood and trying to trash his reputation before he even gets started.
And the press have a duty of care too. Greenwood is one of the best young footballers this country has seen in the past 20 years.
This is proven statistically, with the youngster becoming the first teenager since 1998 to score double figures in the Premier League.
So it’s about time the press cut Greenwood some slack. Don’t try and tear him down.
Let him learn, and let United teach, educate, and help him along, without the constant sniping and sensationalism the press are using the fuel the smallest of fires.
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