How Man Utd have avoided Sessegnon error with Greenwood treatment
Mason Greenwood was the youngest player to score five goals in Europe's top five leagues this season. The 18-year-old is one of five teenagers to have reached that milestone; Jadon Sancho, Erling Haaland, Dušan Vlahović and Dejan Kulusevski all scored five or more in their respective leagues before turning 20.
Greenwood's path to the Manchester United first team has been a carefully managed and plotted one. His workload has been monitored in order to ensure United do not overstretch their newest attacking prodigy.
A direct comparison can be made to Tottenham's Ryan Sessegnon. At the age of 16, he was a first-team player for Fulham in the Championship – more than capable of cutting it in England's second tier.
What transpired was a side who became so reliant on having Sessegnon on that left-hand side, they no longer performed without him. Before the age of 19, Sessegnon had played close to 8,000 league minutes – an enormous amount of football for someone still in the developmental stages of his career.
Consequently, a move to Spurs followed after starring in Fulham's doomed Premier League campaign. For a multitude of reasons, Sessegnon's minutes have been heavily restricted this season – partly due to a hamstring injury which kept him out of pre-season and sidelined until November.
The injury was perhaps a by-product and build-up of considerable strain on his body at a crucial point in his physical maturity.
Greenwood and Sessegnon's birthdays are separated by 15 months. The former has played over twice as much football as Sessegnon this season, but Sessegnon has played over five times as much football in his short career. Sessegnon's boasts over 9,000 first-team minutes in club football, while Greenwood – just a year junior – has less than 2,000 minutes and no major injuries under his belt.
At the beginning of last season, Greenwood was an under-18s Premier League regular. It soon became abundantly clear mid-way through the 2018-19 campaign that he needed to be playing at an under-23s level, a competition which he excelled in too.
This year, the United teenager has been drip-fed games by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, aiding in his development and familiarity with top-level football, without relying too heavily on his young forward.
Greenwood has played across the front three in a variety of roles, meaning at no point during the season has there been an explicit need to play him in lieu of a misfiring alternative.
Fortunately, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford have taken on the goalscoring burden rather well, both in double figures for the season. This has allowed Greenwood to supplement their goalscoring exploits in his infrequent starts and regular cameos.
Solskjaer has managed Greenwood's workload well. After making his first league start of the season against Spurs on December 4th, Greenwood was rested three days later against Manchester City.
A second start on Boxing Day against Newcastle followed, but then two days later against Burnley he was rested again. In fact, Greenwood's only back-to-back league starts this season came in the last three games United played in February and March.
The same can be said of Greenwood's involvement in the UEFA Europa League – a competition which he also has five goals in. After starting against Partizan Belgrade on November 7th, he was then restricted to one minute on the pitch three days later at home to Brighton.
Preceding the 4-0 win over AZ Alkmaar in December, Greenwood was rested in the league before going on to score twice against the Dutch side in the midweek. Once again, the league game that followed, Greenwood did not start, but did score this time.
At the beginning of the season, Solskjaer could have thrown Greenwood into the mix – similar to how a young Marcus Rashford burst onto the first team scene – when the side were struggling.
United were languishing in mid-table, drawing to Arsenal and losing to Newcastle and Bournemouth in early October. Over that four-game period, which included a 3-1 win over Norwich in between, Greenwood played just 65 minutes.
Far too often, young players are over-exploited because they offer something fresh and an alternative to options who may have become complacent, distracted or ineffectual. Greenwood's path from regular under-18s Premier League and UEFA Youth League player last season, to gradual introduction to the first team this year will stand him in good stead – physically and psychologically.
It is not too much, too fast; it has been careful management and provided he does not succumb to an unfortunate injury unrelated to his workload, it should improve his chances of regular first-team action.
Greenwood's path to the Manchester United first team has been a carefully managed and plotted one. His workload has been monitored in order to ensure United do not overstretch their newest attacking prodigy.
A direct comparison can be made to Tottenham's Ryan Sessegnon. At the age of 16, he was a first-team player for Fulham in the Championship – more than capable of cutting it in England's second tier.
What transpired was a side who became so reliant on having Sessegnon on that left-hand side, they no longer performed without him. Before the age of 19, Sessegnon had played close to 8,000 league minutes – an enormous amount of football for someone still in the developmental stages of his career.
Consequently, a move to Spurs followed after starring in Fulham's doomed Premier League campaign. For a multitude of reasons, Sessegnon's minutes have been heavily restricted this season – partly due to a hamstring injury which kept him out of pre-season and sidelined until November.
The injury was perhaps a by-product and build-up of considerable strain on his body at a crucial point in his physical maturity.
Greenwood and Sessegnon's birthdays are separated by 15 months. The former has played over twice as much football as Sessegnon this season, but Sessegnon has played over five times as much football in his short career. Sessegnon's boasts over 9,000 first-team minutes in club football, while Greenwood – just a year junior – has less than 2,000 minutes and no major injuries under his belt.
At the beginning of last season, Greenwood was an under-18s Premier League regular. It soon became abundantly clear mid-way through the 2018-19 campaign that he needed to be playing at an under-23s level, a competition which he excelled in too.
This year, the United teenager has been drip-fed games by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, aiding in his development and familiarity with top-level football, without relying too heavily on his young forward.
Greenwood has played across the front three in a variety of roles, meaning at no point during the season has there been an explicit need to play him in lieu of a misfiring alternative.
Fortunately, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford have taken on the goalscoring burden rather well, both in double figures for the season. This has allowed Greenwood to supplement their goalscoring exploits in his infrequent starts and regular cameos.
Solskjaer has managed Greenwood's workload well. After making his first league start of the season against Spurs on December 4th, Greenwood was rested three days later against Manchester City.
A second start on Boxing Day against Newcastle followed, but then two days later against Burnley he was rested again. In fact, Greenwood's only back-to-back league starts this season came in the last three games United played in February and March.
The same can be said of Greenwood's involvement in the UEFA Europa League – a competition which he also has five goals in. After starting against Partizan Belgrade on November 7th, he was then restricted to one minute on the pitch three days later at home to Brighton.
Preceding the 4-0 win over AZ Alkmaar in December, Greenwood was rested in the league before going on to score twice against the Dutch side in the midweek. Once again, the league game that followed, Greenwood did not start, but did score this time.
At the beginning of the season, Solskjaer could have thrown Greenwood into the mix – similar to how a young Marcus Rashford burst onto the first team scene – when the side were struggling.
United were languishing in mid-table, drawing to Arsenal and losing to Newcastle and Bournemouth in early October. Over that four-game period, which included a 3-1 win over Norwich in between, Greenwood played just 65 minutes.
Far too often, young players are over-exploited because they offer something fresh and an alternative to options who may have become complacent, distracted or ineffectual. Greenwood's path from regular under-18s Premier League and UEFA Youth League player last season, to gradual introduction to the first team this year will stand him in good stead – physically and psychologically.
It is not too much, too fast; it has been careful management and provided he does not succumb to an unfortunate injury unrelated to his workload, it should improve his chances of regular first-team action.
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