Leaner, stronger, better? While the haircut is the obvious difference, Mason Greenwood appears to have put his time on lockdown to good use off the pitch.
Here is a look at Greenwood back in pre-season last July celebrating one of his goals for United.
And now a couple of the latest images of Greenwood at Carrington in training for United this week.
Greenwood’s shoulders look broader, and he appears to have packed on more muscle.
The lockdown was an ideal time for young players like Greenwood to work in the gym and push their physical development to the next level.
These small advantages can get Greenwood get faster as well as stronger, packing on some of the physicality needed to mix it against some of the bruising centre-backs he will come up against.
Special talent
Greenwood has netted 13 goals in all competitions for Manchester United this season.
It has been an impressive campaign, in which he has been held back, patiently by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has only picked him to start four Premier League games.
Perhaps in a couple of these he could have shown more. He started at home to Tottenham in December and away at Everton at the start of March. In both games leading the line, he did alright, without ever looking like stealing the show.
In other games, he did. Greenwood’s lethal finishing ability got United off the hook more than once.
But he still has improvements to make, for his game to develop, and the work he has clearly been putting in behind the scenes is setting him up for success.
What if he is ready to take another big leap forward over the next nine Premier League games?
United will quickly find out, and Greenwood will be battling Anthony Martial and Odion Ighalo for chances, and he will want to make the most of them.
If he has taken a leap forward in training, then he is a wildcard selection to start United’s first game back ahead of Martial. That would be some statement.
Part of the reason United have ‘only’ signed Ighalo on loan is because there is a belief Greenwood can develop into an elite player.
How he performs between now and next summer, will influence United’s next striker move in the transfer market.
A few fans on social media have noted how his new haircut bears a resemblance to the Brazilian Ronaldo in his early career. If he comes back playing anything like him, then we are in for a treat.
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