Manchester United: Mason Greenwood’s soulmate makes shock move

Manchester United have lost a future gem.

Just like the previous Premier League game against Sheffield United, Manchester United made a prolific start this time against a then relegation-contenders Brighton and Hove Albion in what was a must-win game for the Mancunian side — a loss might have made Man United miss out on the coveted Champions League spot.

It seemed as if the arrival of the opening goal was nothing but just a matter of time. From the viewpoint of Manchester United, their front trio of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, and Mason Greenwood was running the show, with fresh and hungry playmakers in Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba operating from the middle of the park.

It took only 16 minutes for United to open the scoreline, with the emerging star in Mason Greenwood swiftly placing the ball past Brighton goalkeeper Mathew Ryan. Though, what followed the goal was an encouraging gesture from the goalscorer towards his soulmate Angel Gomes, who was watching the game from his home.

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Using his fingers, Greenwood made the “A” sign, signifying his admiration and love for his fellow countryman. Greenwood might have not made the moment special for himself and Angel Gomes had not the latter proclaimed his departure from his childhood club earlier that month.

Gomes joined Manchester United academy at the age of five and went through United’s youth ranks to make his debut in the senior colours in May 2017, becoming the youngest player (Gomes was 16 years old then) to represent the club at the highest level since Duncan Edwards in 1953.

A World Cup winner with England U17 in 2017, Gomes saw him getting fewer minutes under his belt since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho as Manchester United head coach.

With Gomes, who won the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year Award in 2017, pocketing only eight appearances under Solskjaer, the idea of leaving the club in the hunt for some regular game-time is understandable.

Speaking on a press conference, Solskjaer confirmed: “All the best to Angel and I’m going to follow his career.” Denying to pen the contract extension at Manchester United, Gomes finally made his way out of Manchester United in a somewhat dejected manner.

Gomes will now be pursuing his career away from English soil, with the 19-year-old joining Ligue 1 side Lille OSC on a permanent basis. However, he is likely to spend the next year on loan in Portuguese side Boavista, who finished 12th in Primeira Liga, Portugal’s top division, last season.

Even though it is now clear that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as reported by Sky Sports, wanted Gomes to continue his career under the brightest floodlights of Old Trafford, the lack of regular game-time is expected to be one of the major reasons behind his departure.

Nevertheless, Gomes’ eye-catching trickery and overwhelming talent would make it interesting to see how he moulds his career on foreign soil and becomes what his nearer and dearer ones want him to become in the future.

Do you think Angel Gomes could fulfil his potential?