Ralf Rangnick says Mason Greenwood needs to develop mentally and physically to become a starter at Manchester United and rejected comparisons with Erling Haaland.
The England youngster started for the first time under United’s interim manager in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Young Boys in the Champions League and netted a superb scissor kick to open the scoring.
He gave a solid all-round performance, creating several chances, having also set up Fred’s winning goal in Sunday’s Premier League win over Wolves.
Despite his encouraging displays, Rangnick is keen to tread carefully with Greenwood and believes he has a lot of work to do, while he believes he has a different development path ahead of him compared to Haaland, who is just a year older.
Asked if Greenwood has done enough to earn a place in the team, Rangnick replied: ‘I think again today he also showed, not only because of that beautiful goal, also the way that he set up the opportunity for Juan Mata that was brilliant.
‘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. But still it’s about continuity.
‘He has to develop physically, but technically for his age he’s a great player and 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.’
Asked how Greenwood compares to Haaland – the German coach said: ‘I don’t think that we should compare those two players, they are different kinds of strikers and players.
‘Erling Haaland is extremely physical, he’s 1.93 or 1.94 [metres tall], a different kind of striker. Erling for me is a target striker, he 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, or he can also come from the wing, and he can play together with another striker.
‘He’s very technical, left foot, right foot. Sometimes he looks a little bit not on an athletic level, and 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’m 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 very valuable player for our club for the future.’
