Greenwood to have dream move RUINED by 19-year-old wonderkid

Tom Weber

• Updated: 24 Mar 2024 08:14 GMT
• 4 min read

Atletico Madrid don't need Mason Greenwood because they already have LaLiga's next big star.

Greenwood's future continues to be up in the air. The disgraced Man Utd forward is in the process of rebuilding his career on loan at Getafe this season and he has certainly shown that there is still a player in there.

The 22-year-old has notched a respectable eight goals and five assists this term, also impressing with his versatility. Getafe have used the forward all across the frontline, both on the left and right wing as well as centrally.

READ MORE: Mason Greenwood can help Arsenal land top transfer target

The erstwhile wonderkid's resurgence has attracted high-profile attention. Juventus are the latest club to have allegedly entered the race to sign him, while Barcelona have been associated with him for some time.

Atletico Madrid are also said to be keen on the forward. FootballTransfers exclusively revealed earlier this week that Diego Simeone's club have enquired about Greenwood and they were told that they would have to shell out £50 million (€58m) to land him.

Forget about Greenwood

Atleti are likely braced for renewed Saudi interest in star forward Alvaro Morata. Additionally, there is also Antoine Griezmann's future that needs to be considered. The Frenchman is the most underrated player this century, but he's not getting any younger and has publically flirted with a move to MLS.

The capital club would therefore do well to stock up their attack. However, spending that kind of money on Greenwood is a dubious decision - and not just for ethical reasons. Even if he were to ever get back to his pre-arrest best, there is just no justification for spending almost €60m on a player with a current Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of just €17.6m.

Moreover, Atleti do not need Greenwood because they already have LaLiga's next offensive star on their books in Samu Omorodion. The 19-year-old is impressing on loan at Deportivo Alaves and he is set for a big future.

Though not as versatile as his English counterpart - Omorodion is a towering centre-forward - the Spaniard has been one of LaLiga's breakout players this season, netting eight goals so far for Alaves.

READ MORE: In-demand Barca defender nets UNBELIEVABLE strike on international debut

Atletico snapped him up in the summer for just €6m after he scored against them for Granada on the opening day of the season. Such has been Omorodion's rise to prominence this term, data analytics firm SciSports rate the striker as one of the world's most-improved players this season, having given him a whopping SciSkill increase of 43.5 over the past six months.

SciSports analyse hundreds of data points to calculate this SciSkill rating, indicating a player's ability. Omorodion ranks third among the world's most-improved U21 players, whereas Greenwood has only developed by 3.3 points over the last half-a-year, though he did naturally start with a higher base rating given his previous exploits.

Omorodion is expected to become a regular fixture in Diego Simeone's side next season. Breaking the bank on Greenwood makes little sense when you already have a player who could become Spain's next great forward waiting in the wings.