Tottenham's Firm Stance on Greenwood Amid De Zerbi's Arrival

Tottenham Hotspur’s summer has started with intent on the pitch and a firm stance off it. While Roberto De Zerbi gets to work reshaping the squad, one name will not be part of his rebuild: Mason Greenwood.

Club sources indicate Spurs have no interest in signing the 24-year-old from Olympique de Marseille, despite fresh links suggesting a Premier League return for the forward. Whatever the speculation, Tottenham are not pursuing him. There have been no moves, no plans, no appetite to change that position.

The decision lands in a charged context. Greenwood, under contract at the Orange Vélodrome until June 2029, is coming off a prolific season in France. He played 45 times in all competitions last term, 32 of those under De Zerbi before the Italian’s departure. In that spell, Greenwood scored 22 goals and supplied eight assists, numbers that would usually have half of Europe’s elite at least running the rule over him.

He kept producing after De Zerbi left, too. Across the remaining 13 games of the campaign, the former Manchester United academy product added four more goals and three assists, underlining his resurgence on the pitch.

Off it, of course, the story is more complex.

Greenwood previously faced charges including attempted rape and assault, which were dropped in February 2023. De Zerbi, during his time at Marseille, publicly described the player as a “good guy” who had paid a “heavy price”. He stressed he did not want to get involved in Greenwood’s private life, but said the forward had found an environment in France that offered him support and “held out its hand to him”.

The Italian spoke of feeling “sad” for what had happened in Greenwood’s life and insisted the person he knew at Marseille was very different to the one portrayed, particularly in England.

Those remarks did not go unnoticed in north London.

When De Zerbi emerged as the leading candidate to replace Igor Tudor at Tottenham, the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust issued a strongly worded statement, highlighting what it called the “serious and far-reaching concerns” raised by his comments and underlining the strength of feeling among fans on issues of violence against women.

Spurs pressed ahead with the appointment. De Zerbi signed a five-year contract and walked into a job that offered both opportunity and scrutiny in equal measure.

He addressed that scrutiny head-on in his first interview with the club’s media team. De Zerbi apologised for his earlier comments and moved to clarify his stance, stating he had never wanted to downplay violence against women or any form of violence. He spoke about his own principles, saying he had always tried to stand with those who are “more vulnerable, more fragile” and that he did not compromise his beliefs in pursuit of trophies.

“I apologise to those who I offended with this subject matter,” he said, adding that having a daughter made him “very sensitive to these things” and expressing hope that, over time, people would come to understand the person behind the touchline persona.

The subject did not disappear. Ahead of his first game in charge, De Zerbi again faced questions from reporters. He admitted he felt “sad and sorry” that his previous comments had caused offence, but repeated that this was an issue “very close” to him.

He stressed he had always been against any kind of violence, “especially against women”, and widened that to include sexist jokes and behaviours. Again, he pointed to his role as a father and insisted he knew exactly who he was and what he stood for, saying he was not annoyed by the questions, only saddened by the need for them.

Against that backdrop, Tottenham’s position on Greenwood is stark and simple. No pursuit. No interest. No reunion with the coach who helped revive his career in France.

De Zerbi has been hired to build a new Spurs, one that excites and competes. The club’s stance on Greenwood makes clear the lines they are not prepared to cross as they try to do it.