‘An exceptional talent’ – Gary Neville singles out Man Utd ace who ‘has to play’

The talented 20-year-old has bagged five goals for the Red Devils this season as he continues to build on his breakthrough campaign under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Greenwood faces plenty of tough competition for a starting spot under Ralf Rangnick though with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Edinson Cavani all at the German’s disposal.

Speaking before tonight’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle, United legend Neville waxed lyrical about the club’s academy graduate.

‘I think Greenwood has to play. For me he’s an exceptional talent,’ Neville said.

‘I think he can potentially play with his back to goal, he can receive on the half turn.

‘I just think he has to play. The growth in him is greater than a lot of young players in the squad.

‘He has so much to give. Everybody that’s a Manchester United fan, the coaching staff, everybody recognises that this could be something really special.

‘Get his head right, keep him fit, keep him consistent, make sure he has good senior players around him that can basically lead him and get him on track and I think you’ve got something there that could be anything he wants to be in football.

‘I think he has to be in the team to grow. He’s worthy of a goal all the time.

‘At this moment in time probably more than Sancho, so for me it’s not a surprise he’s in the team it’s just if he plays the role Sancho is playing it’s something that’s very different for him.’

Greenwood was far from convincing in the trip to St James’ Park though, lasting just 45 minutes before being hooked at half-time by Rangnick.

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