Marseille reach agreement in principle with Mason Greenwood to ...
Marseille have reached an agreement in principle with Mason Greenwood to sign the forward from Manchester United.
The Ligue 1 side already had a deal in place with their Premier League counterparts, which was subject to Greenwood’s approval. That has now arrived in verbal form and work continues in an effort to finalise the move.
Greenwood must still travel to France, undergo a medical and put pen to paper before the proposed transfer can be considered complete.
But the 22-year-old accepting the switch is a significant development in the process to resolve his future, which United decided should be away from Old Trafford.
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Marseille reach an agreement with United to sign Greenwood last week. The deal is worth €31.6million (£26.7m), comprising €27.6m (£23.3m) fixed and €4m (£3.4m) in add-ons, plus a large share of any future sale.
Greenwood last played for United in January 2022 (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
Greenwood returned to United’s training ground on Monday to hold talks with the club’s football leadership team to help facilitate an exit from Old Trafford.
The Englishman has attracted interest from a host of European clubs after a season-long loan spell with Getafe last term. He scored 10 goals in 36 appearances for the Spanish outfit. Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and Napoli have all tracked the striker in recent months.
The move to Marseille would see Greenwood work under former Brighton & Hove Albion boss Roberto De Zerbi, who was named Marseille’s new head coach in June.
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Greenwood has not represented Manchester United since he was arrested in January 2022.
He was made available for transfer after United confirmed in August last year that they had abandoned their plan to bring the forward back into the first-team squad.
It had been decided that Greenwood would resume his career away from Old Trafford after the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service discontinued the case against him for attempted rape, assault, and coercive control after key witnesses withdrew their cooperation. Greenwood denied all the allegations against him.
Greenwood made his debut for Manchester United in 2019 and scored 35 goals in 129 appearances.
(Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press via Getty Images)
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David Ornstein joined The Athletic in October 2019 after 12 years as a sports journalist and correspondent at the BBC. In the role of Football Correspondent, he is responsible for producing exclusive and original stories and interviews, offering unique insight and analysis. He works across video, audio and the written word. Follow David on Twitter @David_Ornstein
