The signing of Cristiano Ronaldo was a statement of intent by Manchester United. After years without a trophy, focusing more on stability and the longer-term, the arrival of a 36-year-old club legend suggested the priority this season is to finally wrest back either the Premier League title, the Champions League, or both.

However, while Ronaldo underlines Manchester United's short-term ambitions, Mason Greenwood has made a strong case for himself to continue up front. The 19-year-old has started all three league games so far, scoring three goals. Two of those appearances came as the striker in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's preferred 4-2-3-1 system.

There's no doubt that Ronaldo represents the here and now for Manchester United. But it's looking increasingly likely that Greenwood is their future.

GREENWOOD'S ALL-ROUND GAME

Greenwood spent a lot of time playing on the right wing during his first two seasons of first-team football, but this season he has been utilised primarily as the striker. However, rather than playing purely through the middle, he uses the full width of the pitch to find space and get on the ball.

Some strikers play predominantly across the width of the 18-yard-box, and rarely come short to engage in build-up. Greenwood does not fit this traditional mould. Sometimes he stays central and on the shoulder of the last defender, but at other times he withdraws into midfield, or pulls wide to the right or the left. Not only does this variety of movement make him difficult to mark, but it can create space for teammates.

One area of weakness in Greenwood's game is back to goal play. Lacking the physicality to hold off strong defenders, he can lose his composure when receiving under pressure facing away from goal. His first touch and lay-offs can be too heavy, leading to giveaways or extra work for teammates to keep the ball under control.

Greenwood needs to handle physical contact better in these scenarios, either to bring supporting runners into play or to work separation from his man and get turned. While there is improvement to be made in this area, his ability to find pockets of space is impressive.

He regularly looks to make himself available between the lines, to give his teammates an option to play through. If not marked, he will take the ball on the half-turn and run at the defence.

One movement that has been seen more frequently this season from Greenwood is runs behind from wide left. He scored against Leeds United in the opening weekend of the Premier League season from this situation, going wide left and attacking the space outside the defender. He typically makes this move in transition, when Manchester United have just won the ball, in a bid to get isolated and use his pace.

After that win over Leeds, Solskjaer made specific mention of the player's speed, something he wasn't necessarily renowned for in the past. "He's filling out," Solskjaer said. "His stride is stronger. When he ran away from the defender and scored his goal, it was a joy to see."

Pulling wide left in transition is becoming a habit of Greenwood's, but there is no question he prefers to attack from the right-hand side. Naturally left-footed, he likes to cut inside onto his preferred foot to shoot from outside the box or combine with teammates.

SHOOTING AND FINISHING

As a consequence of his scoring form, there has been plenty of discussion about Greenwood as a finisher. But the truth is he isn't a natural finisher. Rather, he is more of a shooter. There is an important distinction between the two.

Some goalscorers are finishers. This involves finding space in the box, getting on the end of balls into the area, and scoring - often with one touch - on the ground or in the air. These players are often described as 'having a nose for goal'. Finishers are instinctual, composed, and can go under the radar for long spells in games.

Other goalscorers are shooters - they are excellent strikers of the ball who can find the net from the edge of the box, or outside of it, using power and/or accuracy. They can manipulate the bend and flight of the ball to score around defenders or catch out goalkeepers. Shooters stand out more, because the goals they score are often more memorable.

Right now, Greenwood is more shooter than finisher. He generates exceptional power on his left foot, shoots with accuracy from long distance, and can work a shot for himself with a burst of pace or a bit of skill. While his ideal is to cut in from the right, onto his left, he is also capable using his right foot.

Sometimes he uses his left-footed shot threat to deceive defenders. Feinting to shoot before cutting back onto his right, or performing a step-over as if to come inside, then going around the outside. He did this to buy space from his opponent against Wolves before scoring with his right foot.

Of course, it's possible to be a scoring threat from both outside and inside the box. Thierry Henry was one of the best examples of this the Premier League has seen, and like Greenwood he liked to run or dribble inside from a wider position onto his preferred foot. However, for various reasons, at this moment in time Greenwood should not be described as a finisher.

Firstly, he spends a lot of time away from the penalty box. Secondly, he is still learning how to get on the end of moves. Below we see a perfect example of this. Manchester United have broken down the left and Luke Shaw is set to cross. Greenwood does not attack the space in the centre, instead being drawn to the ball. He is easily marked, and the opportunity comes to nothing.

Considering some of the finest finishers in football and their data from last season, their conversion of shots to goals is somewhere around the 20% mark. This can be seen below.

• Erling Haaland: 30%
• Romelu Lukaku: 25.5%
• Luis Suarez: 21.6%
• Karim Benzema: 19.2%
• Harry Kane: 17.4 %

Greenwood's conversion rate last season was 10.4%. That means he averaged a goal every 10 shots, roughly. This data is no doubt related to the fact that a lot of his shots come from outside the box. He is still learning his trade as a finisher. To improve he needs to work on his aerial ability and his movement inside the box.

WHERE DOES GREENWOOD'S FUTURE LIE?

Greenwood has consistently been compared to Robin van Persie, and it's easy to see why. Like Van Persie, he is not an out-and-out No.9. He roams around the pitch, prefers to cut inside onto his left foot, and can score from range. Van Persie gradually became a striker as his career progressed, and it's possible that Greenwood will follow the same path.

Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani are Manchester United's most natural finishers at this point, and likely alternate the striker role this season. However, with both in their mid-30s, they realistically only have one or two more seasons left at the top level. Greenwood can learn from the pair - Ronaldo's aerial ability, Cavani's hold-up play, and both veterans' movement inside the penalty area - then take over from them in a couple of years.

For this season, most of his minutes may come on the right wing. In the future, with his varied movement, turn of pace, skill, and powerful shot, Greenwood has the potential to be an all-round No.9.