With the long-fabled return of club legend Cristiano Ronaldo to the Theatre of Dreams, Manchester United have landed one of, if not the best number nines in the world.
The Ronaldo Transfer
Despite being 36 years old, Cristiano Ronaldo has still been performing to the highest level within the game, maintaining his superhuman goalscoring form of seasons past. He outscored Chelsea’s new £103M signing Romelu Lukaku in Serie A last season with 29 goals, compared to the Belgian’s 24, in less games.
The all-time top international goal-scorer has signed a 2-year deal with The Red Devils with an option for a 1-year extension. His wages for this contract are reportedly half of what he was earning at Juventus, and whilst that is still likely a hefty sum and may see him be the highest paid player at the club, considering the talent that Cristiano Ronaldo is, it is hardly a ‘breaking of the wage structure’ like some people have argued. Alongside this, the signing has only cost Manchester United £13.5M according to Transfermarkt, which once again, despite his age, represents a huge bargain due to the numbers the Portuguese striker is still producing.
Another concern, however, that has arisen from some fans regarding the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo is what will happen with academy product Mason Greenwood.
Mason’s First Team Action
The Bradford-born winger/striker has been lighting the Premier League up as of late, winning Manchester United’s August Player of the Month award, scoring 3 goals in 3 appearances so far in the 21/22 season.
Since joining the first team, Mason has played the majority of his games on the right-hand side as an inside forward. However, even before joining the first team, the clear development path for Mason Greenwood has always involved him transitioning into a striker full time.
Where Does Mason Fit In?
With Cristiano likely taking up the first-choice number nine position, many worry that Mason Greenwood will not receive the game time he requires to naturalise to the centre-forward role. We can assume that when Ronaldo is fit, he will play. The only time that may not be the case is in the Carabao Cup and the earlier stages of the FA Cup. Even then, Edinson Cavani is also at the club, and whilst he can’t demand game time over Ronaldo, Cavani was on fine form himself last season when available, and it wasn’t long ago when he was also considered one of the best strikers in the world.
Alongside having to fight for minutes at striker, if Mason wants minutes on the right-wing, despite a much brighter start to the season, the politics of the Sancho signing mean the starting right-wing spot isn’t guaranteed for Greenwood.
This understandably has left people questioning how Mason will forge himself significant minutes in the team.
Could Ronaldo Benefit Mason?
Despite what it appears to be at first glance, the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo will actually prove significantly beneficial for Mason Greenwood’s development. Ronaldo is one of the biggest success stories of someone moving from the wing to striker and is the perfect person for Mason to emulate regarding this positional transition. Therefore, being alongside Cristiano every day in training should only benefit Greenwood, even if he’s not getting an increased amount of game time at number nine.
With his clear talent and comfort at the Premier League level, it is easy to forget how young Mason Greenwood is as well. He’s 19 years old still, with plenty of time to develop. Even by the end of Cristiano’s contract (assuming he takes the optional extension), Mason will only be 22 years old, younger than Marcus Rashford is currently.
To fully mature and develop into a top-level striker, there is also physical development which needs to occur, which could potentially take years to happen anyway with Mason. Again, if we compare Mason’s development to Marcus’, Marcus entered the team as a skinny 18-year-old, and it’s only been within the last season or two when Marcus has reached his early 20’s that he’s really filled out into his frame.
Obviously, game time is still crucial and arguably the most important factor for player development, but Greenwood will get gametime. Whether it comes through earning starts over Sancho on the right through performances, or rotational minutes at striker, there will be minutes available for him. Solskjær has provided one of the most planned, managed introductions of a player to the first team with Greenwood, and will undoubtedly make sure to continue this very careful development that has happened so far with Mason.
He has time on his side and will require that time in order to truly encompass the attributes he needs, both technical and physical to become a full-time striker. The future is still extraordinarily bright for Mason Greenwood.