NO MORE MR ICE GUY
Frozen out by England after his Iceland hotel antics, Greenwood is now United’s hottest teenager.. and Ole tells Southgate: Think hard about bringing him back.. he’s really got something special
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER has backed “incredible” Mason Greenwood to make a late push for England’s squad for the Euros.
Manchester United teenager Greenwood, 19, has been out of the England senior picture after breaking coronavirus rules and being sent home in disgrace from Iceland last September.
England boss Gareth Southgate has left him out in the cold ever since and dropped him back down to the Under21s. But after the Young Lions were knocked out of the European Championships in the group stages he is available for the seniors again and has hit a rich vein of form. Greenwood became United’s highest-scoring teenager in the Premier League when he notched his 16th top-flight goal in the comeback win against Aston Villa on Sunday, eclipsing Wayne Rooney’s record. He has scored seven goals in his last 10 games, giving food for thought to Southgate who has three extra places available in England’s squad for the Euros this summer after squad sizes for the tournament were increased to 26.
Solskjaer certainly believes Greenwood deserves a second chance.
“I’m sure Gareth knows Mason well enough,” said the
United boss. “He knows Mason can turn a game around in one splitsecond. He’s working, learning on the job, getting more robust.
“He’s played more than 100 games for us and is the top goalscorer as a teenager, he’s been incredible.
“He’ll have a long, long future with England and I’m sure Gareth will think long and hard about which 26 he’s going to pick. I like him, I like the boy which says in itself what I would have done.”
Greenwood is equally good with both feet and, after a dip in his form midseason, has roared back to his best.
And Solskjaer is delighted with his progressions, adding: “I can say Mason is learning all the time he’s learning on the job, which is not easy. It’s difficult and he’s had to bear a lot of responsibility and he’s popped up with so many important goals for us.
“Last Thursday night in Rome he worked his socks off and then he’s going again. He’s tired, his body is not really filled out yet and he might not be ready for all of these games – but he’s got something special.
“The kid just turns the game around in one split-second and the goal against Aston Villa was excellent, so I’m delighted that he’s got back to his goalscoring best and he’s learning more and more as well.”
Solskjaer has also said he may give a chance to teenage whizzkid Amad Diallo, 18, against Leicester at Old Trafford tonight.
The Ivory Coast winger joined from Atalanta in a £35million-plus deal in January and is seen as one for the future.
But given the fixture pile-up Solskjaer is ready to ring the changes and give the kids a chance.
He said: “Amad has a chance of course, he is training well. The young players are in contention. They’re in the first team squad, they’re training with us every day. So I would think that some of the young boys will get an appearance, definitely.” Solskjaer is expecting a tough test against FA Cup finalists Leicester, who knocked United out in the sixth round, as they seek to cement their place in the top four.
He said: “I’ve said it many times about Brendan Rodgers and his teams, they’re a joy to watch and they play good football.”