Mason Greenwood’s telling response as Marseille threaten to sell ex-Man Utd star

Mason Greenwood is determined to win back the trust of Roberto de Zerbi at Marseille having been dropped for their two league games before the international break

Mason Greenwood returned early from a holiday during the international break to train alone at Marseille’s training ground as the former Manchester United star looks to earn a clean slate with Roberto de Zerbi.

Former Brighton boss De Zerbi dropped Greenwood to the bench in Marseille’s two most recent Ligue 1 fixtures after becoming irritated by the one-time England international’s “erratic” effort levels.

Greenwood is the French top tier’s second leading scorer, with 15 goals, but his application in training has upset the demanding De Zerbi to the extent he was taken out of the starting XI for defeats against Lens and Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month.

The 23-year-old has since held clear the air talks with first-team staff at Marseille, reiterating his commitment after suggestions that the club would consider selling him this summer unless his effort levels pick up. He joined the club from Old Trafford for £26m last summer and has even been linked with a switch to domestic kingpins PSG.

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And L’Equipe have reported that: “A surprise guest showed up at the gates of La Commanderie last Wednesday, in the middle of the international break. Roberto De Zerbi had given his players four days of rest after the defeat at the Parc des Princes in the clash against PSG, but Mason Greenwood chose to cut his vacation short to come and train, on his own initiative, in the company of a fitness coach.”

The newspaper claims that De Zerbi has been in near daily contact with Greenwood’s father, asking for the striker to be reminded of the levels expected from him, adding: “The former Manchester United striker probably had more to prove after an embarrassing stretch where he lost a lot.”

Marseille, who are in the hunt for Champions League qualification face Reims this weekend and Greenwood’s commitment in the past week has left the club hierarchy sufficiently impressed that he may return to De Zerbi’s starting XI.

Greenwood recently confirmed that he would be switching international allegiance from England, whom he won one cap with before facing legal troubles, to Jamaica.

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