Mason Greenwood has been handed fresh hope of resuming his Manchester United career next season after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s £1.3billion investment in the club, according to reports. The 22-year-old has been expected to leave permanently this summer after his loan at Getafe, but upcoming changes under the INEOS banner may open the door for a return.
Former chief executive Richard Arnold had reportedly decided to reintegrate Greenwood into Erik ten Hag’s squad last summer after completing a six-month investigation into his January 2022 arrest.
Greenwood was later charged with attempted rape, assault and controlling and coercive behaviour, all of which he denied.
The Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges in February last year due to the “withdrawal of key witnesses and new material coming to light.”
But internal and external backlash forced Arnold – who left the club after 16 years in December – to make a dramatic U-turn and hurry Greenwood out the exit door.
The former England international has shown promising glimpses of his past quality at Getafe, registering five goals and four assists in 19 appearances this term.
His performances have reportedly attracted interest from a host of European heavyweights, including La Liga trio Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Ratcliffe and INEOS were expected to decide whether to stick with United’s initial stance of generating a transfer fee in the summer, one year before his contract expires, near the end of the season.
But while that timeframe is still said to be the plan, it appears that Ratcliffe will delegate the final say, just as the Glazers family did to Arnold.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Greenwood and Jadon Sancho are currently billed to return to Old Trafford at the end of the season while the club considers their futures.
The report claims United and INEOS want a new sporting director – expected to be in place by the summer transfer window – to take responsibility for both players’ pathways.
Ratcliffe has started his rule over football operations – set to become official when the Premier League ratifies his 29 per cent stake next month – in a promising fashion.
On Saturday, United announced that Manchester City’s chief football operations officer, Omar Berrada, had been appointed Arnold’s successor as chief executive.
The highly-rated French-Moroccan chief will likely be joined by a new sporting director and head of recruitment in the coming months as INEOS overhaul United’s failing structure.
Dan Ashworth, Paul Mitchell, Dougie Freedman, Michael Edwards, Julian Ward and Andrea Berta have all been linked with both roles.
Whoever inherits the sporting director mantle looks set to be faced with a monumental decision regarding Greenwood right from the off in a new, exciting age at Old Trafford.
