Manchester United head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has come out to reveal his disappointment at England manager Gareth Southgate and the Football Association for calling up 18-year-old forward Mason Greenwood to the England squad despite Manchester United asking for him to be rested.
Greenwood made his senior international debut for England in their Nations League fixtures against Iceland two weeks ago, when he came on as a second-half substitute.
The teenager, however, would go on to break Covid-19 rules and protocols when he, alongside Manchester City starlet Phil Foden, meet two Icelandic girls, in the team hotel, ultimately leading to both Greenwood and Foden being axed from the England squad immediately.
Both Greenwood and Foden tendered an apology after Manchester United slammed his behavior in a club statement.
Head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has now come out to reveal that Greenwood should never have been in such a situation in the first place after Manchester United requested the teenager be rested after a length 2019/20 campaign.
Speaking to reporters ahead of United’s league opener against Crystal Palace, Solskjaer said: “The kid had a fantastic season, he’s just come through, we’ve worked really hard to give Mason enough time on the pitch, exposure in the media.
“Then you come to the end of the season and we’ve had less than two weeks off an he’s called up. I tried my best to give him a rest over the summer.
“We asked specifically that he should have had a rest, he needs it mentally and physically and first thing that happens he’s called up and he’s right there in the press. We’ve done what we can to protect him, I’ve done what I can to help him, when he comes back into the daily routine he’ll be fine.”
He added: “This is where he feels at home, not comfortable, we challenge him, he’s got people looking after him who had a plan with him throughout the season and it worked really well.”
“He needed a rest. I looked at the interview (Greenwood’s England press conference) and he’s talking about maybe looking back at this season when it’s over. And that’s actually on the first day of his new season. We have to understand he’s an 18-year-old kid who needs managing.”
Greenwood, who has been training alone at the Carrington training center due to the Coronavirus protocols following his situation in Iceland, has returned to full training and looks set to play feature in the Red’s clash against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
