Few men are more respected on Tyneside than Alan Shearer. The Premier League’s record goalscorer bagged 260 strikes in the division between 1992 and 2006 with the majority of those coming during his decade at St James’ Park. To be precise, Shearer scored 148 top-flight goals with Newcastle, 102 more than Peter Beardsley, who is second on the list.
This week the Newcastle legend tipped blossoming Manchester United forward, Mason Greenwood, to eclipse his record in the next 13 years after the teenager has played a major role at Old Trafford this season, making 22 starts.
What did he say?
Speaking on Match of the Day, via The Sun, Shearer said: “A potential superstar. I respect the power, he can do it with his left foot or right foot. He gets it away early and the goalkeepers have no chance.”
“I think in 12 or 13 years’ time we could be talking about the Premier League record goalscorer.
“I know there’s so many things that can happen in your career but I think he’s that good. He’s 18 years of age, he’s going to get bigger, and he’s better,” added the pundit.
Long way to go
Greenwood still has a long road to travel before he even threatens to be Manchester United’s record goalscorer yet, and Wayne Rooney is Shearer’s closest competitor on 208 goals, 183 of which came in Manchester.
However, the Red Devils academy graduate has been seriously impressive this term, after making his debut last season. Overall, he’s scored ten top-flight goals in 33 appearances, for a phenomenal strike rate of 0.3, if he is able to maintain that average, Greenwood would require 858 Premier League appearances to equal the Newcastle legend’s total.
That would suggest that the teenager may need to improve his goal per game ratio as no player has even accumulated 700 top-flight appearances, with Gareth Barry leading the way on 653. Nevertheless, given how Greenwood is just a teenager, he is only likely to improve as he accumulates more experience, as Shearer suggested.
As for now, the Englishman can per particularly impressed with how he has performed this season, firing in 17 goals in 45 matches in all competitions for the Red Devils. But he has a long way to travel yet if Shearer’s prediction is to come to fruition.
