During an impressive spell out on loan away from Manchester United last season, he was labelled a footballer capable of playing at a ‘Barcelona or Real Madrid level’.
Now, the Red Devils-owned forward will not be playing for one of La Liga’s big hitters in 2024/25.
But it seems that he might well be on his way to another of European football’s elite-level clubs. Albeit one that has now gone four years without a league title.
According to the hugely-reliable Gianluca di Marzio, Juventus are hoping to tie up a deal for Mason Greenwood in the coming weeks. The Manchester United academy graduate has settled on the Bianconeri as his preferred destination despite interest from, as HITC reprted recently, Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.
And while United are holding out for around £40 million, it is no secret that Erik ten Hag‘s side need to raise funds via player sales before the Ineos rebuild can begin apace. Greenwood’s departure would not only earn United a substantial windfall while counting as Pure Profit in Financial Fair Play terms, it could also open the door for the Red Devils to step up their pursuit of Crystal Palace talisman Michael Olise.
Juventus want Mason Greenwood from Manchester United
Now, there are a few pretty obvious and well-documented reasons why some of a Juve persuasion might not be welcoming Greenwood to Turin with open arms.
One pundit, however, feels that Greenwood simply lacks the requisite quality to help Juventus make the leap from third to first. Juve, who have now hired Thiago Motta as their new head coach, finished 23 points behind Scudetto winners Inter Milan in 2023/24.
“(Bologna defender Riccardo) Calafiori and Greenwood are in the sights,” Stefano Impallomeni, the former Roma midfielder, tells Tuttomercatoweb.
“But, for the latter, I say that there can be better on the market.”
No future at Old Trafford
It is over two years now since Mason Greenwood was starting games regularly for Manchester United. Four since he formed one third of one of Europe’s most free-scoring frontlines, alongside Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.
Ten goals at Getafe was a respectable return for a man looking to rebuild his career – he was named the La Liga side’s Player of the Year too – but there are understandable reservations about whether Greenwood will ever fulfil the dazzling potential he displayed under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
“(He is) too good for Getafe, with all the respect in the world. They’ve had the benefit of having a player they wouldn’t normally have,” explains Terry Gibson, the Spanish football expert and one-time United forward speaking on El Tel and Jon’s La Liga Weekly podcast.
“As a footballer, he’s been superb. He’s knuckled down, got on with the job. It’s not a glamorous posting to go and play for Getafe. You have to have a certain culture there, and he’s adhered to that. There hasn’t been one bad word said about him, he’s worked hard, good attitude and you can see the quality.
“I don’t think there would be a massive uproar if he went to Barcelona or Atletico Madrid now. I think now it’s been accepted in Spain that he’s playing out there.
“We knew that (he had the quality) anyway. He was all the makings of a genuine superstar.”