Man Utd starlet Greenwood 'wants to break records' after maiden England call-up

There have been few players in world football hyped as much as Manchester United's Mason Greenwood, but he isn't scared of the hyperbole coming his way and has thanked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for giving him a chance.

In his first major press conference, the 18-year-old spoke ahead of an opportunity to make his England debut under Gareth Southgate in the upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against Iceland and Denmark.

Greenwood comes into the games having played 50 times for Man Utd last season and having already scored 17 senior goals. 

Wayne Rooney has called Greenwood 'Manchester United's best finisher', while fellow England legend Alan Shearer thinks that he could break his all-time Premier League goalscoring record.

Coming across as humble and shy, but also quietly confident, Greenwood isn't scared of chasing records.

"Any young football player wants to break records – and if you didn’t, there’s something wrong," Greenwood said at St. George's Park.

"It’s always nice to have visions and goals you set in your football career and that goes for virtually any England forward - go out there, do your best and break records, be remembered forever."

Most players make their debuts in low-pressure environments but Greenwood was called upon by Solskjaer in a Champions League last 16 match away at PSG, where his side were chasing a winning goal.

Although not involved in the moment that got an injury-hit United through the tie, Greenwood says that the choice to bring him on boosted his confidence and helped him grow into a player capable of lining up for his country.

"I took a lot of belief from that, it gave me a lot of confidence in myself to say that he has got confidence in me to put me on in that state of the game," he continued.

"I’m just glad he did because it’s helped my career and things are calmer now because the pressure was high in that game, as you could tell, not just for me but for everyone so I’m glad he did.

"Ole says to all the young players coming up: ‘Go out there with a smile on your face. You’re playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, just take it on the chin, go out there and express yourself. Think about it as a normal game because you’ve been waiting for that moment all your life so just go out and enjoy it.’

"It’s pretty easy [to ignore the hype]. The players at United get taught to just to ignore it, really, just carry on doing what you’re doing because everyone will be supporting you when you’re doing good but maybe when you’re doing bad, not many people will be supporting you so it’s all about staying calm and just forgetting about it really because it’s what’s on the pitch that’s more important."

One of the reasons why Greenwood is so hard to defend against, even at Premier League level, is his ability to shoot with both feet. Such is his talent, few know what his stronger foot is, but the youngster went onto confirm that he marginally prefers his left foot.

"When I was younger I put in a lot of practice to both feet and it’s stayed with me naturally now," he said. "I’m glad I did it at such a young age because it benefits me in my game."