One of the stupider ITK rumors floating around the wilds of Bat Country was that new Spurs manager Roberto De Zerbi was interested in targeting and acquiring midfielder Mason Greenwood this summer, the way he did at Marseille in France, his last job. I am happy to say that according to Alasdair Gold, those rumors are false and that Spurs have no intention of targeting the English midfielder and Manchester United academy product.
GOOD.
In case you didn’t know, Greenwood was considered a promising midfielder for United. He was credibly accused of sexual assault in 2022, complete with audio recordings of him attempting the assault. Charges were eventually dropped after the victim, his partner, decided not to press charges, but the evidence was damning. He did it, everyone knows he did it, and it has essentially blackballed him from English football. Any club that would sign him — including Marseille — would be roundly criticized today, and rightfully so. Greenwood remains a persona non grata within English football and should remain so for the rest of his career, or what’s left of it.
The main reason I was so firmly against the Roberto De Zerbi appointment at Tottenham Hotspur — and yes, I’m still mad about it and won’t shut up about this topic when it’s appropriate to discuss it — is that De Zerbi not only defended Greenwood in interviews, but played an active role in recruiting and signing Greenwood while at Marseille. For this reason, his appointment as Tottenham manager was a slap in the face to Spurs fans who are victims of sexual assault, has driven some fans away from the club, and he and the club still have not adequately apologized or explained De Zerbi’s actions. For a lot of other fans, it’s not a big deal to them or they’ve made peace with it, but it’s still a sticky point of contention and anger for a lot of Tottenham supporters.
So naturally, some of the worst actors in the football-o-sphere have linked Tottenham to an approach for Greenwood this summer, because of the De Zerbi connection. While I never believed those reports as they didn’t come from any credible source, I’m very glad to see Alasdair Gold finally put them to rest. Appointing De Zerbi is one thing. Actively signing a sexual abuser as a player is much, much, MUCH worse. We might as well make an approach for Thomas Partey in that case, and give up any credibility as a club.
I won’t belabor this, because the rumors were stupid to begin with and I’ve already spent far too much time addressing false rumors. It’s a little irksome that I’m celebrating my favorite club not actually doing the literal worst thing they could do in the transfer window, but hey — that’s where we are right now. I’d like them to do more to address De Zerbi’s history with Greenwood and make amends to the fanbase that didn’t support his appointment, but for now I’ll settle for the club not actively shooting itself in the foot.
