Mason Greenwood “isn’t coming back” for Marseille as Robert De Zerbi’s management of the former Manchester United star has been slammed in France.

Greenwood was suspended by United following accusations of domestic violence before moving to Getafe on loan for the 2023/2024 campaign, with his form for the La Liga side drawing interest from several top European suitors.

Marseille got the deal done for €26m and the move has paid off handsomely, with Greenwood managing 16 goals and three assists across 28 appearances in all competitions put Roberto De Zerbi’s side in the mix for Champions League qualification.

But Greenwood was benched for two games on the bounce by De Zerbi – defeats to Lens and PSG – and explaining his decision, the former Brighton boss hit out at the forward’s lack of “sacrifice”.

De Zerbi said: “No one can have more respect for him than I do. But that doesn’t change anything: I expect more from him. He has to do more, because what he is currently showing is not enough.

“If he wants to achieve his ambition of becoming a champion, he has to be more consistent, sacrifice more and be more determined.”

Man Utd need to raise funds for a huge summer rebuild, and recent developments regarding Greenwood provided a potential boost as they have a 50% sell-on clause. They could earn around £31m amid interest from PSG.

De Zerbi poured cold water on exit speculation ahead of the clash with Reims, insisting he really adored Greenwood before putting him back in the starting lineup.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano also claimed there’s not been any talks regarding a summer transfer.

He revealed: “Many rumours but nothing decided at this stage for Greenwood. There are not even negotiations with other clubs.”

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Man Utd ignored ‘red flag’ to make £64m signing; ‘data warning undermined’ amid ‘walk away’ plea
👉 Man Utd approved ‘lucrative’ contract for one star in ‘error of judgement’ amid internal ‘frustrations’
👉 Man Utd accused of ‘devaluing’ star amid ‘crowdfunding’ transfer plea with ‘very high asking price’ set

But Greenwood’s return failed to turn Marseille’s fortune around, with the Ligue 1 side slumping to their third defeat on the bounce, allowing Monaco to move above them into second place in the table and casting doubt over their ability to stay the course and reach the Champions League next season.

Nice and Lille are now both just two points behind Marseille, while Strasbourg are one point behind them.

And After Foot columnist Daniel Riolo hit out at De Zebra’s management of Greenwood after the 3-1 loss to 15th-placed Reims, claiming the United academy graduate “isn’t coming back” and is “no longer there”, presumably in reference to him seeking an exit having been dropped.

Riolo wrote: ‘You play Reims who don’t beat anyone… You lose 1-0 because you’re robbed, but here, no, you conceded three and that follows a very bad run. Greenwood isn’t coming back, he’s no longer there. De Zerbi’s management with Greenwood isn’t working.’

Manchester United have been accused of “devaluing” Antony, while Old Trafford chiefs have set a ‘very high asking price’ for the winger.

The Brazil international joined Man Utd for around £86m during the 2022 summer transfer window and failed to live up to expectations at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils massively overpaid to sign Antony after former boss Erik ten Hag insisted on a reunion with the winger and he fell in the pecking order at the start of this season.

Head coach Ruben Amorim sanctioned Antony’s exit during the winter transfer window, joining La Liga outfit Real Betis on loan until the end of this campaign.

Antony has returned to form for Real Betis, grabbing four goals and four assists in his 12 appearances in all competitions.

READ: Ranking the Premier League ‘Big Six’ by magnitude of their 2025 summer rebuild

Real Betis sporting director, Manu Fajardo, believes Antony has been “spectacular” after Man Utd “devalued” him.

“Here, we work on ‘devalued players, analysing data from players who have reached very high moments and peaks, but who for various reasons have significantly decreased their performances,” Fajardo said.

“In Antony’s case, he has performed since minute one at Betis.

“The player quickly integrated into the project and has demonstrated spectacular performances since his arrival.”

Real Betis star Isco added: “We hope that Antony will remain at the club, but in football, nothing can be taken for granted. We need to do crowdfunding to bring Antony in!”

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Man Utd perform U-turn on ‘ticket prices’ vs Man City as derby ‘did not sell out’ before ‘slash’
👉 Man Utd rumoured to be unnamed Premier League side to make £50m ‘offer’ for Barcelona star
👉 Ten transfer requests welcomed by Premier League clubs ahead of the summer window

Meanwhile, Antony admits he “experienced bad things” at Man Utd after his “best decision” to join Real Betis.

“Seville reminds me of many things in Brazil: the sun, the food and the people,” Antony said. “It’s very important for people who come from my country.

“I needed to find myself and be happy. Every day that goes by, I think it’s the best decision I could have made.

“I learned a lot of good things at Manchester United , but I also experienced a lot of bad things there.”

A report from Fichajes claims Man Utd have set a ‘very high asking price’ for Antony.

‘Manchester United invested €95 million in his signing in 2022, and although his time in the Premier League hasn’t been what they expected, the English club is unlikely to accept losing too much money on a hypothetical sale.

‘The figures being discussed for a permanent transfer are around €35 ​​or €40 million, an amount that Betis will have to study carefully.

‘The winger’s future will depend on negotiations between both clubs and the player’s own wishes. His desire to remain in Seville is evident, but the final decision will rest with Manchester United and Betis’s financial capacity to afford a move of this magnitude.’

Manchester United have identified a new target to play out wide for next season, but it may well be a difficult business decision to pursue.

With the club hoping to reunite Ruben Amorim with the highly-rated youngster Giovani Quenda, they were beaten to the punch by Chelsea, who wrapped up a £42million deal ahead of the summer window last month.

Quenda would have been the perfect addition to play in Amorim’s wing-back system which he has only been able to add one player to since arriving at the club. Given there is set to be a mass exodus of players, he will have to ensure that his squad is built in his image ahead of next season.

One player they have since identified as a replacement for Quenda is Como’s Assane Diao. The 19-year-old has shone since joining Cesc Fabregas’ side and he has scored seven times and provided three assists for both Real Betis and Como this season.

He found the net five times in his first eight Serie A appearances and is a talented player who recently made his debut for the Senegal national team and looks to be on upwards trajectory.

Italian journalist Nicolo Schira reports that the club has started looking at Diao and has claimed that a United scout was in the stands when Como drew 1-1 with Empoli.

It remains unclear whether Como would be open to selling Diao at this stage having just signed him, and both Fabregas and club president Mirwan Suwarso have been vocal about maintaining the club’s current course. 

“We have no intention of selling any of our players, at least not in the near future,” Suwarso told Calcio e Finanza last month. “Maybe in three or four years – because it would be naive to say that player sales aren’t part of the business. And we’re not short on money – we are well-backed.”

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Man Utd ignored ‘red flag’ to make £64m signing; ‘data warning undermined’ amid ‘walk away’ plea
👉 Man Utd approved ‘lucrative’ contract for one star in ‘error of judgement’ amid internal ‘frustrations’
👉 Man Utd accused of ‘devaluing’ star amid ‘crowdfunding’ transfer plea with ‘very high asking price’ set

Amorim’s wide options

Wide players only exist in Amorim’s system as wing-backs, tasked with joining attacks but also requiring great pace and energy to help the team in a defensive shape. It is one reason why a player like Alejandro Garnacho, a typical attacking winger in a 4-3-3 setup, has struggled as he was forced into an inside forward role in the 3-4-3 formation.

Jadon Sancho, Antony and Marcus Rashford will all likely be sold this summer and one of Joshua Zirkzee and Ramsus Hojlund are speculated to exit as well leaving plenty of room for new recruits.

As it stands, there haven’t been many links to players in those positions, but they have been linked with striker reinforcements such as Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike, who has 19 goals this season.

They still have Luke Shaw to eventually return to the fray but they are lacking true, natural players to feature in this system.