Mason Greenwood: From Marseille's questionable new hero to unlikely zero & potential transfer - what's gone wrong for the ex-Man Utd forward?

On the face of it, Greenwood's numbers this season are not to be sniffed at; the ex-Man Utd forward has been involved in 18 goals in Ligue 1 alone, and he sits second in the top-scorer charts with 15 strikes of his own, albeit he is six behind Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele.

He became Marseille's questionable new hero almost immediately as he made a spectacular start to life at Stade Velodrome, scoring five times in his first three games. But while he has continued to mark the scoresheet, his subdued displays in recent weeks have been publicly called into question as those statistics begin to paper over some cracks.

In January, Greenwood even admitted his own level had dropped, saying: "I think I can do a lot better. I started very well and then I slackened off a little bit. I hope to get back to my best level and maintain it."

So, for the majority of us who are either casual Ligue 1 observers or see Greenwood's contributions from afar and take them at face value, what exactly is going wrong? Speaking to GOAL, La Provence journalist and author Fabrice Lamperti explains: "He [Greenwood] is less decisive, less impactful on Marseille's performances. This has been going on for a while.

"It's true that sometimes, individual brilliance has been able to save his matches. For example, against Nantes, where OM won 2-0, Greenwood was involved in the first goal and scored the second through an individual effort with a bit of luck. [But] He wasn’t good at all. He was very quiet throughout the match, except for those two actions that allowed OM to win, almost making people forget that he hadn’t played well.

"Most people remember those moments, but you also have to consider everything he didn’t do until then. This has been a recurring issue."

Lamperti adds: "He simply needs to do more, to get in sync with the team, and to try not to be too individualistic all the time. At the start of the season, he always opted for personal play rather than the team’s collective approach. At one point, he started to change - he began assisting his teammates more towards the end of the year. But lately, he’s reverting to that individualistic style again, and above all, he needs to work harder defensively. More collective effort, more defensive work, and maybe stop focusing only on his stats and goals."

Inevitably, Greenwood has not escaped the wrath of famously-outspoken head coach De Zerbi, who first demanded more of the attacker before dropping him from his starting line-up for the first time all season for the clash with Lens earlier in March.

"I expect more from him. He has to do more, because what he is currently showing is not enough," the fiery Italian said. "If he wants to achieve his ambition of becoming a champion, he has to be more consistent, sacrifice more and be more determined."

However, De Zerbi's words didn't have the desired impact; Greenwood delivered an ineffectual performance off the bench as Marseille were beaten 1-0 by mid-table Lens, with the Englishman torn to shreds by the French press afterwards and reportedly irking his manager with his 'nonchalance', 'attitude' and 'lack of effort'.

That culminated in one of the biggest shocks of the Ligue 1 season so far as De Zerbi left his top scorer on the bench again for Le Classique at PSG ahead of the international break, pointing to the forward's "physical condition" after he played just 27 minutes of Marseille's damaging 3-1 defeat to their fierce rivals. The result leaves OM clinging onto second place having frittered away a fairly comfortable cushion.

Lamperti, author of Marseille's 50 Greatest Players, believes that being overlooked for the starting XI for what is always one of the club's biggest games, and arguably the biggest in the French football calendar, could be the shot in the arm that he needs to get his time at Stade Velodrome back on track.

"Being a substitute in Le Classique, in Paris at the Parc des Princes, must have been quite a shock for him," he tells GOAL. "Everyone thought that for such an important match Roberto De Zerbi wouldn’t leave out his best attacking asset twice in a row. And yet, that’s exactly what happened."

The journalist also believes that Greenwood will now realise that the vociferous and passionate fanbase will never accept players coasting through games, even if he has been Marseille's star player so far this season.

"I think Greenwood has probably realised that he needs to do more," he continued. "Perhaps he also misjudged the context of OM, which is an extremely demanding club where players are always expected to give more."

Lamperti believes we could still be seeing the consequences of Greenwood's long absence from the game. The 23-year-old did not play a competitive game for 19 months between February 2022 and September 2023 after being arrested on charges of attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, following the emergence of audio and imagery online.

He was initially suspended by Man Utd before being loaned to Getafe in La Liga in the summer of 2023 after the charges were discontinued due to the withdrawal of key witnesses and new material that came to light.

"We must not forget that he is still a young player who has gone through many long months without really playing," Lamperti says. "Maybe he is also experiencing some physical aftereffects from his long absence because, even if the player is fit, he was still out for many months without playing before."

Such is the frustration with Greenwood's recent performances that La Provence has even reported that he has been given the remainder of the season - just eight games - to fight for his place at the club. If he fails to impress, there is a genuine possibility he could be sold.

"Regarding his future - right now, it’s very uncertain. He signed a long-term contract with Marseille last summer. But it’s clear that OM would like him to do more, to show more, and that maybe his future will depend on how he performs in the last eight games of the season," Lamperti says.

Much will also depend on Marseille holding onto a Champions League place; currently just four points separate Les Phoceens in second and Lyon in fifth, with the south coast club's form doing little to instil confidence that they can stick it out.

"OM has a very clear objective: they need to qualify for the next edition of the Champions League," Lamperti continues. "They made big efforts last summer to achieve this, with significant signings, including players like [Pierre-Emile] Hojbjerg, [Adrien] Rabiot, and Greenwood, of course. If they fail to meet this goal, it will be very difficult. They are counting on Greenwood to help them achieve this, and if they don’t succeed, there could be a lot of changes."

It seems the message might have gotten through to Greenwood, though, as he shows no signs of being willing to give up the ghost. While Marseille's non-international players were given four days off at the start of the break, Greenwood returned two days early - a decision that is said to have impressed De Zerbi and his staff.

The club even went to the lengths of sharing a video of the forward going through a hill sprint drill and being put through his paces alone at their Commanderie base on social media, with the caption 'Work, work, work'.

"[Coming into training early] already shows that he wants to improve, that he is aware of all this, that he knows he hasn’t been doing enough," Lamperti says. "He has likely had discussions with the staff and the management, and I think they tried to make him understand that the situation is entirely in his hands. It's up to him - if he wants to change things, he has to do more. Coming to training earlier is a positive sign, of course. It shows he's motivated, that he wants to make a change."

Indeed, speaking ahead of OM's return to Ligue 1 action against Reims on Saturday, De Zerbi confirmed that Greenwood would definitely play a part. "He trained before the group" the Italian tactician said. "He trained very well this week. Tomorrow, he'll play."

It seems Greenwood has passed the first test, but unless there is an improvement on the pitch his fate will remain uncertain as we hurtle towards the end of the season and he unexpectantly finds himself in the position of having to play for his future. He has been linked with a move to big-hitters PSG and Barcelona, but his options could dry up.

"In the end, the truth will be on the pitch. We’ll see on Saturday in Reims whether this has paid off," Lamperti tells GOAL. "The situation will resolve itself very simply when he starts performing well again, regains his form, and begins scoring goals consistently. From what I’ve seen, I think he’s capable of it."

Indeed, the journalist believes Greenwood will ultimately earn the right to stay at OM. "Based on what he has shown, I think he will bounce back, as long as he maintains the right attitude, which he seems to have done in training recently," he says.

"And I personally think he will stay because it will be difficult to sell him; if they sell him, it means he is not performing well, and if he is not performing well, then the offers might not match what they were hoping for, making things complicated. I think he will stay, lift his head up, and finish the season well."

Greenwood has gone from Marseille's dubious new hero to benched zero in a matter of weeks, and now the onus is on him to turn his own fortunes around in what remains of the campaign. The successful resurrection of his career may depend on it.