Ralf Rangnick says Mason Greenwood needs to develop his physique to become a regular again for Manchester United. Rangnick watched Erling Haaland flourish for Red Bull Salzburg during his stint as the Red Bull group’s sporting director and the German downplayed comparisons between Haaland, a one-time United target, and Greenwood.
Ralf Rangnick said: “I think today he also showed, not only because of that beautiful goal but the way he set up the opp for Juan Mata 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. Still, it’s about continuity, he has to develop physically but technically, for his age, he is a great player. My job is to develop him, to make an athlete out of him, and if he manages to do that can be a regular player for this club. Erling, for me, is a target striker, who can play as a single striker like a target man or in a 4-4-2. I think Mason is more of a nine-and-a-half, he can play as a striker, he can also come from the wing, he can play with another striker, he is very technical, left foot, right foot.. Sometimes he looks a bit not on an athletic level. I think we have to develop him there physically, but technically all the things he can do with the ball are outstanding. I am not so much worried about his technical level. We need to develop him physically and mentally and if we manage to do that he can become a regular player and an invaluable player for our club in the future.”
Rangnick fielded a completely different team against Young Boys in order for United’s regulars to concentrate on the match at Norwich this weekend. Tom Heaton, Zidane Iqbal and Charlie Savage all emerged in the second-half for their debuts as United ended Group F with 11 points.
Ralf Rangnick added: “Two aspects to it: on the one side I wanted to give game-time to the players who played today and see them on the competitive level in the Champions League. And, on the other hand, rest the players who played on Sunday against Crystal Palace for the Norwich game. We had a normal training session with those players today and we will have another two normal training sessions in order to prepare them for the Norwich game tomorrow and on Friday.”
