Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick has hailed Mason Greenwood as a “massive talent” and is determined to help the England international’s development.
Rangnick rotated his squad on Wednesday night as United took on Young Boys in a Champions League dead rubber, with the Premier League side already assured of top spot in the group.
Greenwood was one of 11 changes made by Rangnick for his second match in charge and the forward certainly made the most of his opportunity to impress.
The 20-year-old opened the scoring with an acrobatic volley, although United were eventually held to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
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Rangnick is excited by Greenwood’s potential but says the youngster must improve his physicality.
"I think today he also showed not only the quality because of that beautiful goal, but also the way that he set up the opportunity for Juan Mata was brilliant," said the German.
"He's a massive talent - left foot, right foot, good on the ball. Also the way that he set up the goal for Fred on Sunday, so it's about continuity.
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"He has to develop physically but technically for his age he is a great player. My job is to develop him, to make an athlete out of him and if he manages to do that, he can become a regular player for this club."
In his post-match press conference, Rangnick was asked to compare Greenwood with another highly-rated young striker - Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland.
Rangnick played a key role in taking Haaland from Molde to Red Bull Salzburg when he was sporting director at the Austrian club.
"They are a different kind of striker," added Rangnick.
"Erling, for me, is a target striker, who can play as a single striker like a target man or together with another striker in a 4-4-2. I think Mason is more of a nine-and-a-half. He can play as a striker, he can also come from the wing, he can play together with another striker and he's very technical. Left foot, right foot.
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"And as I said, sometimes he looks a bit not on an athletic level. I think we have to develop him there physically, but technically all the things that he can do with the ball are outstanding.
"So, I am not so much worried about his technical level. We need to develop him physically and mentally to become the strongest version of himself.
"And if we manage to do that, he can become a regular player and a valuable player for our club in the future."
Haaland was recently ranked as one of the three most valuable young players in Europe.
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The Norway international has an estimated transfer valuation of £128m, according to figures released by the CIES Football Observatory.
Manchester City’s Phil Foden and Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr also share the same valuation.
Greenwood, meanwhile, is joint-fourth on the list with an estimated valuation of £119m, alongside Barcelona’s Pedri and Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz.
Featured Image Credit: PA ImagesTopics: Mason Greenwood, Manchester United, Ralf Rangnick, Premier League, Champions League, Football