Mason Greenwood poised to return to Man Utd training as £30m bid falls short

Manchester United are ready to welcome back Mason Greenwood for pre-season training if they fail to offload the striker in the next two weeks.

The Red Devils are keen to strike a deal for Greenwood, who spent last season on loan at La Liga’s Getafe, netting 10 goals in 36 games.

Lazio have expressed interest in the 22-year-old England international, but their initial £30million bid falls short of United’s valuation by at least £10m.

Greenwood was loaned out to Getafe after a dramatic change of plans by United, who initially intended to reintegrate him into Erik ten Hag’s squad.

The club had planned to bring Greenwood back after charges of attempted rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and controlling and coercive behaviour were dropped.

However, following criticism over their handling of Greenwood’s case, United decided against their original plan, fearing backlash, and sent him on loan instead.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his newly-formed football executive team at United are still inclined to sell Greenwood and use the funds from his sale to bolster the squad.

Despite significant interest from Lazio, Juventus and Napoli, a permanent deal is yet to be finalised, with United set to return for pre-season on July 8.

If Greenwood remains under contract with United, it is understood the forward would be eligible to report back for pre-season training with the rest of the squad.

Such a scenario may bring further criticism United’s way, given the ongoing sensitivity surrounding Greenwood, but he would be entitled to begin his pre-season training programme.

Greenwood has not played for United since being suspended in January 2022, following his arrest, although all subsequent charges he faced were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.

United’s willingness to sell Greenwood who has one year left on his contract – has been strengthened by the fact any fee would count as pure profit under the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, as a result of him coming through the club’s academy.