Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has expressed his belief that it is too early for Manchester United starlet Mason Greenwood to be considered for an England call-up, with Euro 2020 only a few months away.
Greenwood is currently enjoying a superb breakout campaign with the Red Devils , having been thrust into the senior fold following the departures of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez.
The 18-year-old has hit 10 goals in 25 appearances across all competitions, with his latest strike coming in a 4-0 home win over Norwich on Saturday.
With Tottenham's Harry Kane facing a race against time to be fit for this summer's European Championship after picking up a hamstring injury, speculation over who will replace him in Gareth Southgate's line-up has been raging.
Chelsea ace Tammy Abraham and in-form Southampton frontman Danny Ings are among those pushing for a spot, along with United's top scorer Marcus Rashford.
It has been suggested that Greenwood could join his club colleague in the Three Lions squad if he continues on his current trajectory, but Solskjaer thinks he needs more time to develop.
"I think Mason will have a top career and a long career, let the boy settle in now before we talk about England or the Euros," the Red Devils head coach told a press conference.
"His focus has to be just on playing more for us and improving. When he plays well for us, that will happen by itself.
"He's been picked for England's Under-21s lately. He's just focusing on his football."
Solskjaer was speaking ahead of United's FA Cup third-round replay against Wolves at Old Trafford on Wednesday, with Greenwood likely to be in contention for a place in the starting XI.
The Red Devils have endured a frustrating 2019-20 season so far, sitting fifth in the Premier League standings - five points adrift of Chelsea in the final Champions League spot.
Solskjaer has attributed a "demanding" winter schedule to his side's struggles, but he is hopeful they can pick up a "rhythm" with Liverpool up next on Sunday in the top flight.
"It's our 14th game in 45 days," Solskjaer said. "We've still got five or six games before the winter break - it's relentless - 18 games in 63 days which is physically and mentally demanding.
"We have to energise them. Bad results have to be used as a motivation, as in we're not there yet but need to keep improving. We just need the rhythm. When I was playing I felt we got rhythm of match, rest, match, rest."