How Man Utd could line up with Mason Greenwood if striker makes controversial return under Sir Jim Ratcliffe

10 months ago 69

MANCHESTER UNITED could yet bring Mason Greenwood back into their team after new owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe opened the door to the forward’s potential return.

Greenwood, 22, had charges of attempted rape, assault and coercive control against him dropped in February 2023, before he was sent out on loan to LaLiga side Getafe in September.

He has played 24 games for the Spanish outfit, scoring seven goals and providing five assists.

Now Ratcliffe has hinted he could be handed a path back to Old Trafford.

And that could be bad news for another English forward, Marcus Rashford.

Ramus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho are beginning to show an impressive understanding in Man Utd‘s frontline.

And club captain Bruno Fernandes remains an undroppable figure in Erik ten Hag‘s team.

This would likely make Rashford the obvious player sacrificed for the returning Greenwood.

Rashford, who has been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain, racked up 30 goals last season, but has managed just five in 30 matches during the 2023/24 campaign.

Ratcliffe refused to close the door on both Greenwood and Jadon Sancho – on loan at Borussia Dortmund – when talking to the media on Wednesday.

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While the British billionaire was discussing a general “principle” rather than one of the two players in particular, he did say: “We will make a decision.

“I don’t know if he (Greenwood) could still have a future.

“All I can do is talk about the principle of how we will approach decisions like that.

“Is he the right type of footballer? Are we happy with that? Is he a good person or not?

“He (Greenwood) is a Manchester United footballer and we are in charge of football.

“So the answer is it’s quite clear we have to make a decision.

“There is no decision that’s been made. He’s on loan obviously but he’s not the only one.

“We’ve got one or two footballers that we have to deal with and we have to make a decision on – so we will do that.

“The process will be – understand the facts not the hype and then try and come to a fair decision on the basis of values – which is basically whether he is a good guy or not.

“Could he play sincerely for Manchester United well and would we be comfortable with it and the fans be comfortable with it?

“I can talk about the principle. The principle is the important one because we will have other issues going forwards.

“You are dealing with young people who have not always been brought up in the best circumstances, who have a lot of money and don’t always have the guidance they should have.

“What we need to do when we have issues like that is to understand the real effects, not the hype.

“Then we need to make a fair decision in the light of the club’s values. That’s what we need to do and that’s how we will deal with it.”