Mason Greenwood was given a backhanded compliment by his manager Roberto De Zerbi after equalling Didier Drogba’s Marseille record.
Greenwood enjoyed an excellent start to life at Marseille but has but came under scrutiny amid a shocking run for the Ligue 1 side which saw them lose four games in five to put Champions League qualification in doubt.
Roberto De Zerbi dropped the forward from the starting lineup for two games on the bounce last month, claiming he needed to “sacrifice” more.
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.”
Marseille director of football Mehdi Benatia then had to step in to dismiss rumours that former Spurs midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has asked that Greenwood be ‘removed from the squad’.
But after a brace in the 5-1 win over Montpellier and another goal in the 4-1 win over Brest, Greenwood has matched Didier Drogba’s record of 19 goals in his debut Ligue 1 season for Marseille.
And after the game, De Zerbi delivered a backhanded compliment to Greenwood, claiming it’s “the first time” the forward has worked that hard.
The former Brighton boss, who’s taken his players to Italy for a late-season training camp, said: “Italy? Tuesday. We’re going to work, be together. It’s not a punishment. The players are happy… have you ever seen Mason Greenwood work like today?
“It was the first time. You have to give the players credit. Sometimes you lose points because of bad attitudes, but not because they’re not good guys.”
Ahead of his recent return to form, the Marseille fans unveiled a banner calling out his efforts along with teammate Luis Henrique.
‘Greenwood, Henrique, get moving!!!’ the banner read.
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De Zerbi revealed he’s been working alongside Greenwood’s father to aid his development, but claims he still “wastes a little of his potential”.
He added: “He is an introverted person, a little closed, but he has a wonderful family around him, an extraordinary father with whom I worked a lot, he helped me a lot to manage him, with the help also of Mehdi Benatia.
“It is true that sometimes he gives us the impression that he can score three or four goals per game, and sometimes also that he wastes a little of his potential and his value.
“So how can we help him? Well sometimes by cuddling him, by taking care of him and sometimes also by being harder so that he continues his progression.
“This is the main objective that I have with all my players, beyond all those that we can have with the club, because if I make my players progress we can achieve the club’s objectives faster.”
