England debut for Mason Greenwood? Gareth Southgate talks about the ‘remarkable maturity’ of the Man United youth

Gareth Southgate says Mason Greenwood has shown “remarkable maturity” during his first camp in England, raising the possibility of a full debut for the “icy” teenager in Reykjavik on Saturday.

Greenwood, 18, is among the first call-ups for the Nations League qualifiers against Iceland and Denmark, and Southgate said he would “not hesitate” to start either of them tomorrow night.

The England manager revealed that he had asked Greenwood what his preferred foot was and said it was unusual to see a young player so calm and with two feet in front of goal.

“I have to say that it is very rare to see a player so comfortable on both feet,” Southgate said of the Manchester United striker.

“Not just the ability to take a pass, but to shoot off with both feet. There aren’t many I’ve seen. I had to ask him. I was embarrassed – you pick a player for England and you’re not sure which foot.” kick the ball with!

“With him, there’s really that quality of definition and the way he has an ice-cold gaze and a very calm disposition overall. He’s also clear in and out of the penalty area. For someone his age, that’s a remarkable maturity “.

Phil Foden also hopes to win his first international game on Saturday or next Tuesday’s match in Copenhagen, having established himself in Manchester City’s side after the Premier League restart.

Foden’s graduation to the senior team has felt inevitable since he was named player of the tournament when England won the U-17 World Cup three years ago, but Southgate admitted he has been deliberately patient with the 20-year-old playmaker.

“We’ve known Phil’s ability for a long time,” Southgate said. “I worked with him in an under-15 camp four or five years ago and you knew the quality.

“We wanted to be patient, we are aware that he is a tremendously exciting talent, we did not want to expose that too soon. We felt that although he was not a regular at his club, playing for the U-21 was useful for his development and getting a time. regular match.

“But after the lockdown he had a very good run of games. You could see that physically he had adapted. We know that it is a much more difficult request to enter the Manchester City team than others, so we were not blind to that. I think “It’s about time. We see that he’s with us moving forward and nothing I’ve seen this week in any way suggests that that won’t be the case.”

“He could almost play anywhere in four or five positions on the front row and he has already done that for his club. He is a beautiful player to watch.”

Arsenal’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles is another new call-up in contention for a debut and could appear on the left back this week, with Southgate considering returning at all three.

“The versatility that has really drawn us in,” Southgate said of the 23-year-old, who can play on either side of defense or in midfield.

“He has adjusted well, he has not looked out of place in any way. He is training with high quality players anyway at his club. If he has a chance to play then there are a number of roles that we could use him in and which is really helpful. “

Perhaps the most unlikely new face of the group is Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips and Southgate believes the 24-year-old will continue to improve once he establishes himself in the top flight.

“Technically, he has adapted perfectly,” Southgate said. “That hasn’t come as a surprise to us because we’ve seen his performances. I’m not sure we’ll bring him out tomorrow, but we don’t hesitate to bring him into the game. As the season progresses and he gets more experience in the Premier League.” it will adapt even faster.

“He also gets more out of the others,” he added about all the new calls. “You can see it in training. We bring in Phil Foden, Mason Greenwood, Kalvin Phillips and all of a sudden the players in their position know good players are coming and that puts more urgency in their game. So there are huge benefits to those. type of players that are on the team. “