Ole Gunnar Solskjaer blames Gareth Southgate for Mason Greenwood’s England shame

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has blamed Gareth Southgate for Mason Greenwood’s England shame.

Greenwood, 18, was sent home from England duty, along with Phil Foden, for sneaking two women into the team hotel following a 1-0 win over Iceland.

But United boss Solskjaer has hit back at Southgate for calling Greenwood up for England suty in the first place – against the United manager’s wishes.

Solskjaer claimed Greenwood needed a rest after a gruelling first full season with United and should never have been in Iceland in the first place.

“What we speak about and discuss will be between the two of us.

“He had a fantastic season, he’s just come through. We’ve worked, and the club have worked, when we give Mason enough time on the pitch, when we give him enough exposure in the media.

“I have to be honest enough and say I did my best to give him a rest over the summer.

“He needs it, mentally and physically, but then you come to the end of the season and the first thing that happens is he’s called up and right there in the press.

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“We’ve done what we can to protect him, I’ve done what I can to help him, and when he comes back into the daily routine he’ll be fine.”

Greenwood is back training with United and is in the frame for tomorrow’s Premuier League opener against Crystal Palace.

Solskjaer added: “With the testing and COVID protocols, he trained by himself for a little while.

“But he’s a big part of this group, his is where we feels at home. We ‘ve got people looking after him, we had a plan with him throughout the season and it worked really well.

“He needed a rest. I looked at the TV interview [with England] and he’s talking about looking at this season when it’s over and it’s first day of new season – he’s an 18-YO kid who needs managing.”