Southgate refuses to rule out England return for Man Utd outcast Mason Greenwood
GARETH SOUTHGATE has not ruled out a possible return to England for Mason Greenwood after this summer’s European Championship.
A police investigation into the Manchester United striker was launched in January 2022.
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Charges of attempted rape, assault, controlling and coercive behavior were later dropped.
Greenwood – whose only cap came in 2020 – has rebuilt his career on loan in Spain.
And asked about the international situation for Greenwood, Three Lions chief Southgate said: “I don’t think this is a pre-Euro thing.
“It seems to have been a good move that he was able to restart his career abroad. But I haven’t followed it closely.
“Right now it would be a big distraction for the team – let’s see where that leads next season.
“I would have to know more details about the whole thing before it was an option.”
Greenwood, 22, was loaned out to Getafe last August. He has eight goals and five assists in 26 appearances for LaLiga.
It remains to be seen whether United will permanently sell Greenwood this summer, with a number of Spanish teams interested.
New United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said last month: “We will make a decision. I don’t know if he (Greenwood) could have a future.
“All I can do is talk about the principle of how we will approach such decisions.
“Is he the right type of footballer? Are we happy with that? Is he a good person or not?
“He (Greenwood) is a Manchester United footballer and we are responsible for the football.
“So the answer is that it’s pretty clear that we have to make a decision.
“No decision has been made. He is of course on loan, but he is not the only one.
“We have one or two footballers that we have to deal with and make a decision on, so we will do that.
“The process will be: understand the facts, not the hype and then try to come to a fair decision based on values – which basically comes down to whether he is a good guy or not.
“Could he play well for Manchester United and would we feel comfortable with that and the fans would feel comfortable with that?
“I can talk about the principle. This principle is the most important because we will have to deal with other issues in the future.
“You are dealing with young people who have not always been raised in the best circumstances, who have a lot of money and do not always receive the guidance they should receive.
“What we need to do when dealing with these kinds of problems is to understand the real effects, not the hype.
“Then we have to make a fair decision in the light of the club’s values. That’s what we have to do and that’s how we deal with it.”
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