04 September 2023 , 10:29
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Premier League club Brentford were among those to turn down the chance to sign Mason Greenwood this summer, it has been claimed.
England international forward Greenwood went into the window having not played a minute of professional football since January 2022. He had been suspended by parent club Manchester United after being arrested in January 2022, before charges of attempted rape, engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm against the forward were dropped in February 2023.
United confirmed in August that the player would continue his career elsewhere, and he ended up joining Getafe on a season-long loan. The Spanish side weren't the only team in the conversation, though, as detailed in new reports.
According to The Athletic, United looked at potential European suitors as well as clubs from the Saudi Pro League as they sought a taker for Greenwood. No Saudi party was interested, though, while Brentford also reportedly declined the opportunity.
The Bees were one of several clubs across the continent approached by agents as United sounded out clubs for interest in Greenwood, the same report claims. Others to say no included Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, AS Roma and other unnamed English sides.
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Atalanta were also among the clubs considered back in the spring, before questions emerged over a potential United return for the academy graduate. Any talk of that was put to bed in August, following a fan backlash, leaving United with less than a fortnight to find a European taker.
Mason Greenwood hasn't played for Manchester United in over a year (PA)When it came to the crunch, two clubs remained well and truly in the mix: Lazio and Getafe. The Italian deadline came earlier, though, and with nothing sorted in time for a Serie A switch, Greenwood was off to Spain.
Documents were even exchanged over a Lazio deal, and the failure of a move to materialise frustrated their president Claudio Lotito. "I tried until the last minute," he told La Lazio Siamo Noi (via Goal ). "They [Man Utd] didn’t countersign in time. He wanted to come to Lazio."
The Athletic reports that United will still cover the bulk of Greenwood's wages, while there is no loan fee and no option to make the move permanent. There is also said to be a January break clause if things don't work out, though this is considered standard practice.
United put out a statement following Greenwood's loan exit. “Mason Greenwood has signed for La Liga side Getafe on a season-long loan, subject to international clearance," it began.
"The move enables Greenwood to begin to rebuild his career away from Manchester United. The club will continue to offer its support to Mason and his family during this period of transition.”
Getafe sit 14th in La Liga, with four points from their four games so far. Greenwood wasn't signed in time to feature in their defeat at Real Madrid on Saturday, but manager Pepe Bordalas was asked about the new arrival.
Getafe boss Pepe Bordalas has spoken about Greenwood (Pressinphoto/REX/Shutterstock)"It is a very delicate situation to trivialise this issue," Bordalas said. "Everyone knows what happened and the appropriate measures were taken, obviously, we can only talk about football.
"Regarding the other issues, I believe that the people and the relevant authorities did what they had to do and everyone knows how it ended with a non-conviction sentence therefore he is a free person, a footballer of a very high level and who arrives at Getafe with enormous enthusiasm and that we are obviously going to help him so that he recovers back to his best level."