Mourinho contacts Manchester United player – could save his career

Jose Mourinho before the match.

Jose Mourinho has offered Mason Greenwood a way out of Manchester United Reuters/Lee Smith.

AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho has reportedly offered a ‘football lifeline’ to Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood.

The 21-year-old, who last played for United more than one and a half years ago, remains on the club’s books but is yet to be reinstated into Erik ten Hag’s team. He has been pictured training alone.

United have not made a final decision on his future, but the manager is understood to be against selling Greenwood.

Suspended Manchester United player linked with Roma

A loan move appears to be the most likely scenario this summer, and a number of clubs from Italy and Turkey have enquired about a possible temporary deal for the player who’s desperate for an opportunity to return to the field at the highest level.

Roma are the latest club to be mentioned as his suitors. According to The Sun, Mourinho reached out to the ‘troubled’ star over moving to the Italian capital on loan. Last summer, the Portuguese manager managed to lure Nemanja Matic to Rome after he decided to depart Old Trafford on a free transfer.

Meanwhile, Ten Hag’s reluctance to permanently cut ties with Greenwood underlines the sheer lack of goal-scoring options at his disposal. Following the end of his loan spell, Wout Weghorst has returned to Burnley, leaving injury-prone Anthony Martial as the only natural striker option at the club.

United are in the market for a new striker but have so far struggled to make any real progress on that front. Tottenham Hotspur don’t intend to sell Harry Kane to a Premier League rival, and Napoli have slapped a price tag of over £100m on Victor Osimhen’s head. Further, United have reportedly had their bid for Rasmus Højlund rejected by Atalanta.