Tottenham Rejects Greenwood Transfer Amid De Zerbi's New Era
Tottenham Hotspur’s new chapter under Roberto De Zerbi is gathering pace in the transfer market – and it will not include Mason Greenwood.
Despite fresh links between the Olympique de Marseille forward and a return to the Premier League, Spurs have no interest in signing the 24-year-old, according to football.london. The club’s stance is firm: Greenwood is not part of their plans as De Zerbi starts to shape his squad.
It is a significant line in the sand at the start of an era already laced with sensitivity and debate.
Greenwood’s revival in Marseille – and De Zerbi’s role
On the pitch, Greenwood’s numbers in France are striking. Under De Zerbi at Marseille, he played 32 games last season, scoring 22 goals and supplying eight assists. The Manchester United academy graduate then added four more goals and three assists in the remaining 13 matches after De Zerbi’s departure.
His contract at the Orange Vélodrome runs until June 2029. From a purely footballing perspective, Greenwood has rebuilt his career in Ligue 1 and looked like a player on the rise again. That form inevitably drew Premier League attention and speculation.
But in north London, the door is closed.
De Zerbi’s past comments and fan backlash
The Greenwood issue follows De Zerbi into Tottenham. Not just as a tactical innovator from Marseille, but as a coach whose previous public comments about the player lit a fuse among Spurs supporters.
Greenwood had charges against him – including attempted rape and assault – dropped in February 2023. While at Marseille, De Zerbi had described him as a “good guy” who had paid a “heavy price” and spoke of the environment the club had created around him.
Those remarks did not sit comfortably with a large section of the Tottenham fanbase. When De Zerbi was appointed as the permanent successor to Igor Tudor just two months after leaving Marseille, the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust released a strongly worded statement, outlining “serious and far-reaching concerns” and the “strength of feeling” among supporters.
The club pressed ahead. De Zerbi signed a five-year contract and walked into a job already carrying more emotional weight than most new managerial reigns.
De Zerbi’s apology and stance
Faced with the backlash, De Zerbi moved quickly to address his previous comments in his first interview with club media.
“I have never wanted to downplay the issue of violence against women or violence against anyone more broadly,” he said. He stressed that throughout his life he had “always stood up for who are more vulnerable, more fragile” and “consistently fought and taken a stand to be on the side of those who are more at risk”.
He apologised “to those who I offended with this subject matter” and pointed to his personal life to underline the depth of his feelings.
“I have a daughter, and I'm very sensitive to these things and always have been. I hope that over time, people will get to know me better and will understand that in that moment, I didn't mean to take a stance.”
The theme continued when he faced reporters before his first game in charge of Tottenham. De Zerbi said he was “a bit sad and sorry it happened” and repeated that the topic was “very close” to him.
“I have always been against – always – any type of violence, especially against women,” he said. “But not only violence, even just sexist jokes or other sexist behaviours.
“I have a daughter, and I'm directly affected by it. I know who I am. I know the type of person I am, so I wasn't annoyed by the questions – I'm just sad about them.”
A clear early decision
Against that backdrop, the club’s refusal to pursue Greenwood carries extra weight. It is not just a routine transfer denial. It is an early, visible decision in a delicate intersection of football, ethics and public trust.
Tottenham’s recruitment team are busy laying the groundwork for De Zerbi’s first season, and the early window has been framed as the start of an “exciting new era”. But there are lines this new regime will not cross.
On Greenwood, Tottenham have made theirs unmistakably clear.
