Mason Greenwood celebrated his birthday on Tuesday to turn 18-years-old.
17 was quite a year for the teenager. He made his Manchester United debut, playing in the Premier League, Champions League and Europa League.
After a prolific campaign at academy level, he scored his first competitive goals for the first team. And there are plenty more to come.
18 could be even better for United’s number 26. He has been touted as United’s most natural finisher, and many believe he is already the club’s best striker.
Where does he rank?
Data and valuations set by Transfermarkt rank Greenwood among the top 10 most valuable 18-year-olds in world football.
He is below Real Madrid’s Rodrygo, Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi, who has featured for England, and Arsenal’s £27 million signing William Saliba.
Greenwood’s valuation will only soar as this season goes on. With each and every Premier League goal he scores, his reputation will rise.
No amount of money would tempt United to selling the young wonderkid, with his development part of the reason the club were content to cash in on Romelu Lukaku in the summer.
Greenwood was incredibly unlucky not to start for United against Arsenal on Monday night. Marcus Rashford did not really make a mark in his place.
Not the only one
Greenwood is just one of a very talented crop of youngsters who are giving United reason for optimism.
He is just the furthest along. James Garner, Brandon Williams, Tahith Chong and Angel Gomes are all on the fringes of the first team.
Behind them, Dylan Levitt and Largie Ramazani are also making strong cases themselves this season.
Greenwood is setting a high bar for young players to live up to, and as Chong has shown, making an immediate impact is not easy, but with time and patience, they could all get there.
By the end of the season United’s squad may be looking a lot better as a result.
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