Olympique de Marseille agree deal to sign Mason Greenwood

Olympique de Marseille have reached an “agreement in principle” with Manchester United to sign 22-year-old forward Mason Greenwood.

David Ornstein (The Athletic) reveals on X that the two clubs have agreed a deal but there it is still “work needed” to officially confirm the transfer.

Tweet: “Marseille reach agreement in principle with Mason Greenwood to sign forward from Manchester United. Work still needed – 22yo must travel, do medical, put pen to paper – but major development after deal between #OM & #MUFC struck last week @TheAthleticFC”

Greenwood has been the subject of interest from a host of sides across Europe this summer, including Lazio, Juventus, Napoli, Borussia Dortmund, Benfica and Getafe – the club the 22-year-old spent last season on loan at.

However, Marseille jumped to the front of the queue last week after agreeing a deal with United for the permanent sale of Greenwood.

The offer is worth €31.6million (£26.7m), comprising €27.6m (£23.3m) fixed and €4m (£3.4m) in add-ons, as well as a considerable percentage of any future sale.

As an academy graduate, Greenwood’s sale will constitute a huge boost to United’s spending this summer as the sale of a youth product counts for pure profit from a financial fair play perspective.

The English forward had briefly returned to Carrington, United’s training ground, on Monday to “hold talks” with club executives, but there was mutual acceptance he would not be reporting for pre-season duty. Instead, it was agreed both parties would continue to work on a permanent departure from Old Trafford.

Ornstein reports Greenwood has now given his “approval” to the switch to the Ligue 1 side – an update which the reporter describes as a “significant development” in the process.

He further reveals there are still a number of steps which require completion before a move can be confirmed – “Greenwood must still travel to France, undergo a medical and put pen to paper before the proposed transfer can be considered complete” – but these are generally considered as formalities within a transfer.

The most important part is the forward verbally communicating his willingness to join the French club as a report relayed by The Peoples Person revealed Greenwood had “asked for time” to consider the switch, following widespread condemnation from Marseille fans on social media, as well as the city’s Mayor.

Now it appears Greenwood has had any doubts over the transfer assuaged and United officials are simply waiting for official confirmation from their French counterparts before the deal is finalised.

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