Manchester United have reportedly been contacted by Spanish giants Atletico Madrid over a possible deal for Mason Greenwood.
The former England international has been attempting to rebuild his career in La Liga with Getafe since being informed that there is no path for him back into the Old Trafford picture.
Greenwood was lauded as one of the Premier League's most promising young talents before his arrest in January 2022, having been the subject of online allegations from a woman.
The forward was initially arrested on suspicion of rape and assault, before then being further arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and making threats to kill before being released on bail.
Greenwood was immediately suspended by Man United and was due to face trial in November on one charge of attempted rape, one charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of engaging in coercive and controlling behaviour.
However, the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges against Greenwood this year, citing the withdrawal of key witnesses and new material coming to light, leaving him free to resume his football career.
Man United apparently received data from Greenwood's individual training sessions and had planned to reintegrate him after finishing their internal investigation, only to reverse their decision in the wake of enormous backlash.
Rather than terminate the 22-year-old's contract - which runs until 2025 - Man United loaned Greenwood out to Getafe for the 2023-24 season, and he has seamlessly adapted to life in La Liga.
Greenwood has scored five goals and set up four more in his first 15 appearances for Getafe across all competitions, and his form has allegedly led to interest from some of Spain's most revered clubs.
Getafe are supposedly prepared to spend £40m to sign Greenwood permanently next year, although they face stiff competition from Barcelona, Real Madrid and Real Sociedad, the former of whom could try to entice the Englishman to Camp Nou with the offer of Lionel Messi's iconic number 10 jersey.
In the hope of stealing a march on their rivals, Marca claims that Atletico have now touched base with Man United to discuss a possible transfer, having followed Greenwood's displays for some time.
It remains to be seen how Sir Jim Ratcliffe's 25% purchase of Man United will impact Greenwood's future too, as the Ineos chief will take control of footballing operations at Old Trafford once his £1bn transaction is signed off by the Premier League.
Greenwood joined the Red Devils' youth academy in 2007 and progressed through the youth system to make 129 senior appearances for the club, registering 35 goals and 12 assists.
Greenwood made his first and only appearance for England to date in a Nations League win over Iceland in September 2020, before being sent home for breaching COVID-19 guidelines. body check tags ::
