Manchester United could be about to wrap up their first big sale of the window with Mason Greenwood inching closer to Olympique Marseille.
The forward was the subject of interest from Lazio and Marseille but it is the French side which have moved quickly and made an improved offer to become favourites for his signature.
The reported £27 million fee will allow United to make transfers of their own beyond the basic budget for this window, a huge boost.
With Greenwood’s transfer to Marseille inching closer, the fans of the club have revealed their thoughts on their potentially newest player.
Marseille fans voice their feelings
A portion of the fans of the Ligue 1 side have gone on the Olympique Marseille forum (statement in French) to pen their thoughts on this transfer.
In a reaction that would probably give deja vu to United, the statement makes it extremely clear that the forward is “not welcome” at their club.
Aptly titled “Greenwood not welcome”, the statement goes into detail about the player’s past and urges the board that “it is not too late to give up” on the move and “allow us all to at least keep an illusion of pride”, having already been burned by registering an interest in the player in the first place.
It said that the club’s decision to move forward with this transfer based on the “presumption of innocence in the absence of a court conviction” is “lazy”.
The statement asked the supporters to mobilise and register their opposition to the move en masse or they will find themselves as “fait accompli”.
It ended with the appeal that by “acting on scale”, it is possible to get their message across to the decision-makers and “it is our responsibility to make ourselves heard respectfully, but firmly”.
The Greenwood situation
It is a deja vu for United, who unsuccessfully tried to reintegrate Mason Greenwood into the team last summer before public outcry against it had them pivoting to a loan move instead.
After a successful loan spell at Getafe, the expectation was that the bidding war for his services could net the club an income they wouldn’t have hoped for when the player was hurriedly sent away.
While the truly elite teams have distanced themselves from the player, the interest in him did materialise in the form of bids from two clubs. However, this development was always expected where Greenwood was involved.
It remains to be seen if this appeal at the club forum gains momentum and forces the club into a pivot as well. For United, a clean break with a potential sell-on clause is the best-case scenario they are working towards.