Paul Scholes’ concerns over the right position to play Mason Greenwood in have been proven right after Manchester United ’s goalless draw with Leeds.
Greenwood has spent most of his United career playing on the wing, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer elected to hand him a start at striker for the trip to Elland Road.
But the 19-year-old again struggled to produce goals, having scored just once in 13 games when played as a forward this season.
He had just one shot in the first half of the clash with Marcelo Bielsa’s men, before being moved to the wing when Edinson Cavani was introduced from the bench.
Cavani has been a solid option at centre-forward this season, but looks set to depart Old Trafford when the summer transfer window opens.
As the Uruguayan is set to leave, Solskjaer will need to find a replacement, with Greenwood the leading internal candidate.
But his continuing struggles to prove himself as a genuine option through the middle will likely mean United will have to dip into the transfer market to find Solskjaer a striker.
Solskajer has continually stated that Greenwood is not yet ready to play as a striker, suggesting the decision to select him against Leeds may have been a message to the United hierachy that a striker will need to be bought.
That demand was endorsed by Scholes, who has previously stated that he sees Greenwood as a winger.
“I think a centre-forward is the priority. I think they have got very good forwards but is one of them a centre forward?” he told BT Sport before United’s Europa League quarter-final with Granada.
“If you take Cavani out of it, is one of them a real centre forward? Is Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood, Anthony Martial a real centre forward? They look better to me in wide areas.
“Can they keep him [Cavani] for another year and maybe delay it (the decision to sign a striker) for another year? Maybe. But eventually they're going to have to try and sign a top-class centre-forward.”
