Mason Greenwood on Marcus Rashford: 'I'm Following in His Footsteps'

Mason Greenwood has said he feels he is following in the footsteps of Marcus Rashford at Manchester United.

Greenwood is enjoying a breakout season in the Red Devils' senior side.

He has scored four times in 20 Premier League appearances—averaging a goal every 124 minutes—and  also has four goals in five outings in the UEFA Europa League.

Still only 18, Greenwood is treading a remarkably similar path to Rashford, who broke into the first team from the youth ranks as a teenager under Louis van Gaal in 2015-16.

Greenwood said he can take inspiration from how his team-mate has progressed in the last five seasons, per SoccerBible.com:

"He's been in the academy and come through the ranks and I feel like I’m following in his footsteps. He's a few years older than me but I can definitely take a lot of inspiration from what he has achieved so far. I've known him for a long time so I've seen how well he has done and how he has progressed as a player, so there's lots to learn from being around him."

Rashford, 22, has stepped up impressively in 2019-20 to become United's biggest goal threat after the summer departure of Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan.

Having previously never scored more than 10 goals in a Premier League campaign, the England international reached 14 in 22 appearances in the English top flight this term before being sidelined with a back injury:

In his absence, United have failed to score in three consecutive Premier League games.

They did, though, thrash Tranmere Rovers 6-0 in the FA Cup late last month, when Greenwood scored from the penalty spot.

United are currently on a two-week winter break, which comes to an end on February 17 when United visit Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea.

It is arguably a must-win game for the Red Devils if they are to remain in the race for the top four.

A loss would see United drop nine points back from the UEFA Champions League spots with 12 games remaining in the campaign.