sport news Mason Greenwood is a huge talent, but Man United must consider their next move ... trends now

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Some 250 days since he arrived at Manchester United, Erik ten Hag faces one of his biggest dilemmas. The only consolation is he does not have to handle it alone.

The issue of Mason Greenwood and whether he should ever be invited to play for United again hung heavy over Ten Hag’s weekly press conference yesterday. The United manager quite sensibly did not get involved with an issue that remains legally sensitive. Three times he was asked and three times he said no. It was a pretty emphatic hat-trick.

Ten Hag will be at the heart of the Old Trafford discussions about Greenwood and what to do with him, however. While the club must balance the benefits of having a very good player — and potential asset for sale — back on the field against the publicity and pushback from some sponsors and supporters that would bring.

Ten Hag must look purely at the football. His squad could do with a little more depth, for sure. Greenwood remains a natural scorer of goals. But the Dutchman has worked hard at changing the dressing room culture at United since arriving at the end of last season. He believes he has an atmosphere that works. He may well consider that a return for the 21-year-old would place that at risk.

While making clear that he was not talking about Greenwood in this context, Ten Hag was happy to discuss culture yesterday and he stressed he will not allow anything to jeopardise something he has improved markedly since, for example, the removal of Paul Pogba and then Cristiano Ronaldo.