Manchester United are ready to bring forward talks to cement the long-term future of teenage striker starlet Mason Greenwood. The academy graduate turns 18 next month and currently earns around £5,000-per-week, having signed his first professional contract last October.
Old Trafford officials have thrown a protective arm around the youngster ever since he made his first-team breakthrough at the back end of last season.
Boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has maintained that faith by blooding him late on in the recent outings against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Southampton, which yielded just two points for the misfiring Red Devils.
Greenwood has left the talks to his close-knit team of advisers and United insiders have suggested the brokering will be further accelerated in the coming days, following the international break.
It is understood the Manchester giants do not want to get their fingers burned again, certainly when it comes to handing youth prospects big money from the very off.
They eventually saw how difficult it was to remove Adnan Januzaj’s £50,000-per-week salary from the payroll, having pushed the financial boat out after the former winger’s Premier League debut brace against Sunderland back in 2013.
Greenwood has a similar pedigree, in that the coaches at Carrington have had him marked down for big things from a very early age.
United are believed to be proposing a new five-year agreement worth an initial £20,000-per-week before other bonuses are also factored in.
There will also be the promise of incremental rises each year, should Greenwood maintain an upward trajectory and remain a part of the senior set-up.
The Bradford-born forward scored 31 goals last season in the United youth ranks and there is little doubt he has an instinctive nose for where the goal is.
Greenwood has an impressive reputation behind the scenes, known for a quiet and respectful manner towards his coaches, added to a supreme work ethic.
