In-depth – Who is Mason Greenwood and will he feature for Manchester United this season?

The young striker scored his first professional goal for Manchester United on Wednesday in a 4-0 win against Leeds United in Perth, Australia.

Greenwood opened the scoring from close range in the seventh minute following a cross from Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Greenwood was born in Bradford in October 2001, and has been at United since the age of six, playing at the club’s development school in Halifax. The striker progressed through the academy ranks at the Red Devils, when eventually he joined up with the Under-18’s in 2017, despite only being 16 at the time.

The 17-year-old won Premier League 2 Player of the Month in April 2019. The pacey forward then went on to win the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year for season 2018/19, a prestigious award awarded to the best player in the club’s youth system.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed the 17-year-old is in contention to start in Premier League opener against Chelsea, adding that Greenwood is ‘a natural footballer.’

“You see a talented boy there and he’s got every opportunity to make it as a Man United player.

"Of course it’s also going to be about luck, staying clear of injuries, being professional and I’m sure he’s going to grab his chance because everything is there for him.

“It’s important for strikers to get that goal, even though we’ve always said and know he’s capable of scoring goals. But that first goal is going to be a weight off his shoulders. His movement, cleverness, he’s going to be a very good player.

“He’s a natural and two-footed. You know when he takes a penalty with his left, with his right, free-kicks left, free-kicks right, he is almost what you call 50-50. Maybe 51-49 left footed.”

Furthermore, star striker Marcus Rashford has said that Greenwood has ‘frightening’ ability and he believes the sky is the limit for the 17-year-old.

"He is quite laid-back. I think it's no good putting things in his head repeatedly. He's a clever kid so he'll learn it as he goes. His natural abilities are frightening."

With Romelu Lukaku expected to leave the club and Greenwood continuing to impress Solskjaer, it looks increasingly likely he will feature more often this season. Greenwood could be possibly look at being back-up to main striker Marcus Rashford. Will the teenager follow in Rashford’s footsteps?