Mason Greenwood made his debut as an 87th-minute substitute in Manchester United's incredible Champions League win against Paris Saint-Germain.

It is difficult to comprehend quite what Mason Greenwood must have thought when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer handed him his Manchester United debut along with the sizeable task of finding the goal that would see United become the first team in the history of the European Cup to overturn a two-goal deficit, away from home, in the knockout stages.

Greenwood, an 87th-minute substitute on Wednesday night, will do well to experience a more astonishing 10 minutes in what is to come from his fledgling United career than those that saw Marcus Rashford net United’s away-goals winner against Paris Saint-Germain in the 93rd-minute after the video assistant referee awarded United a penalty for a contentious handball.

The most astounding night in recent memory gave United an improbable berth in the Champions League quarter-final draw and with it, in keeping with this great old club’s tradition, its 231st academy graduate to play for the first team.

Greenwood’s debut might have come sooner, of course. It is indicative of the regard in which the 17-year-old is held at Old Trafford that his injury-enforced absence from United’s FA Cup fifth-round trip to Chelsea on February 18 was considered a genuine blow to Solskjaer’s attacking options.

The England under-18 international, who signed his first professional United contract in October, had scored 22 goals in 22 games for Manchester United’s under-18, under-19 and under-23 teams before his unforgettable night in Paris and his has been an exponential career trajectory that Mark Senior, one of the first to harness Greenwood’s infinite talent, believes was forecast from the age of six.

Greenwood’s first taste of organised football came at United’s development school in Halifax 11 years ago and Senior, a former coach at both the Halifax centre and United’s academy, says Greenwood, from Wibsey, Bradford, was almost immediately earmarked as a future star.

“When Mason Greenwood came in at six, he could use both feet equally as strong,” Senior told MEN Sport. “He was absolutely rapid. As soon as you showed him a little trick or anything he would just do it straight away.

“We started really advancing him and as soon as you’d show him a new move or skill, within 30 seconds to a minute he’d be doing it already.”

Greenwood’s talent was so apparent that he was soon sent to United’s training ground in Salford, The Cliff, on Sunday mornings to play small-sided games against the most gifted members of United’s 46 development centres around the country. James Garner, the 17-year-old from Birkenhead who made his debut against Crystal Palace eight days ago, was also involved in the sessions. But Greenwood’s infinite ability made him stand out from the rest, with his work ethic and shooting ability of particular note.

“He turned up at the Halifax development centre with Manchester United and he used to get there about 20 minutes early because he went there from school,” Senior explained. “And he used to just be hitting the ball at this bin outside the door. He’d be using both feet.

“We used to do little shooting games in which you would try to create a little bit of space and get a shot off but we’d go in net because we didn’t have goalkeepers in the development centres. Me and the other coach Gabriel would go in net and you could feel it when Mason hit it.
“Most kids at seven years of age, you would let it in to give them a bit of confidence. But Mason would smash it in the bottom corner and if he did hit it at you you’d know about it. It was like a 13-year-old hitting it.”

Greenwood’s showing since forming part of United’s tour squad last summer have seen comparisons made with United strikers of old, but Senior believes Greenwood, who can play across the forward line, will become known as a player with a unique style should his progression continue at the same rate.

“People says he’s like the new [Robin] van Persie but I don’t know,” he explained. “I think he’s his own man. I’ve not seen another player like him. His style means his pace is deceptive because he is absolutely rapid.

“I think he turned up at a Great Britain under-13 100m sprint race and broke the Great Britain record. All the athletics people were after him at one point. Athletically he’s unbelievable.”

Greenwood has registered all manner of finishes for United’s youth sides this season, with a pair of free-kicks against Liverpool a particular highlight of his remarkable campaign to date. That the Bradford-born forward has the confidence to step up at such moments – not to mention making his debut at the pivotal moment of a Champions League knock-out tie – says much about his mentality.
Senior says fearlessness was promoted from a young age at United.

“When they came it was about just letting them play and trying tricks, trying dribbles,” he says. “Whereas most clubs would go the opposite way by thinking football as a team sport requires that players are drilled into passing and playing in a specific position. At United it was the polar opposite and obviously it worked.
“You’re teaching the kids to be greedy, really, but in a nice way. It was about not letting them be scared of losing games or losing the ball. Straight from the word go, if they made a mistake no-one corrected them.”

With the body of work that Greenwood has produced to date it would be far from surprising to see him make further impact on Solskjaer’s first-team squad before the season reaches its conclusion. But might the pressure involved with being United’s most promising talent weigh heavily on Greenwood? Senior believes not.

“Mason always conducted himself very well but also had not an arrogance but a confidence about him,” he said. “You need it. You could always tell with Mason that he would get to where he wanted to go.

“We never did man-of-the-match awards because you lose all intrinsic motivation from it. Does Mason have the right sort of attitude? He will have because he never had that trophy for just playing on a Sunday morning. They didn’t need it, all they needed was to play the game.”

Those values have, to date, born fruit in Greenwood’s career but Senior says his rise is down to Greenwood alone.

“We’re chuffed to bits that he’s doing what he’s doing but I don’t think it’s down to the coaching necessarily,” he added. “He was going to be a player. If we’ve given him 0.5% help then that’s fine.

“The guys that used to work there eight or nine years ago keep in touch and we all sent each other a text message about that, saying ‘the first one’s come through’. But we always knew that he would. We said if he doesn’t make it then we probably need to pack it all in. He was always the obvious candidate."