Greenwood earns ‘best finisher’ billing as Solskjaer ranks teenager above Man Utd greats

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits that Mason Greenwood may be “the best finisher” he has seen, with the Manchester United manager prepared to rank the youngster above some illustrious names.

The Red Devils’ current boss was once a fearsome frontman himself, with an impressive haul of goals recorded under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson.

During that time he played alongside the likes of Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Luis Saha and Wayne Rooney.

Solskjaer also spent four years on United’s books with Cristiano Ronaldo, who developed from a promising, tricky winger into one of the most prolific forwards of all-time during his spell at Old Trafford.

Greenwood is the latest youngster to follow in those illustrious footsteps, with a highly-rated academy graduate making quite the impact on a senior stage.

At just 18 years of age he is already being tipped to reach the very top, with a stunning brace against Bournemouth in his most recent outing taking him onto 15 efforts for the season.

Many have hailed his ability to shoot with both feet, and Solskjaer admits there are few flaws to be found in a game that still has so much potential to unlock.

He told BT Sport after seeing Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial all find the target in a convincing 5-2 win over Bournemouth: "They are exciting. We have players who provide chances for them but they have pace and skill. It is just too bad our fans could not be here and spurred them on for a couple more.

"Mason has chipped in with 15, Bruno [Fernandes’] tally is going up so we have goals everywhere. I am not worried about goals in the team.

"Mason is one of the best if not the best finisher I have worked with and seen. He is so calm. He knows where to finish if it is on the training ground, here or in his garden at home.

"We have to build on that. Many big games to come and we need more big wins because we know our goal difference isn't the greatest. Confidence is sky high, you get energy and confidence by performances and results and we are getting that at the minute.

"I have enjoyed the last few games to be honest and it is healthy, you don't age as quickly."

United remain in the hunt for a top-four finish this season, with third-placed Leicester also back in their sights, and Solskjaer is delighted to see everything coming together in a 16-game unbeaten run.

He added: "Very pleasing, attacking football which we wanted in front of the Stretford End, shame no fans here. If there were fans I think we could have scored a few more as well.

"We didn't stress, we didn't change our ways we were patient."