Why did Marseille recruit heavily from England? | OneFootball

It was to be another active transfer window for Olympique de Marseille this summer as they looked to reshape their squad following last season’s disappointing campaign. The arrival of Roberto De Zerbi from Brighton & Hove Albion spearheaded the dramatic changes on the south coast and set the tone.

11 new faces followed in De Zerbi’s footsteps, and like their freshly appointed manager, almost half came from an English club. From the Premier League, Pierre-Emile Højbjberg, Neal Maupay, and Mason Greenwood joined, while the Championship provided the rest with Ismaël Koné and Jonathan Rowe.

Five recruits and a manager arriving from England suggested a larger plan from the hierarchy. And it was inevitable that De Zerbi would eventually be questioned about it. On Friday, the manager responded by suggesting that there was no grand scheme behind why they plucked from England, “We made the decision to recruit these players because they are simply very strong, it’s a coincidence.”

Coincidence or plan for Marseille?

However, L’Équipe reports that this is far from chance, the outlet alleges that the club hierarchy in private over the summer had “harsh words” for the lack of professionalism, character, and leadership of many players in the squad and that they believed that these characteristics could be found more readily in the English leagues.

In an interview with Get French Football News, former Marseille player Chris Waddle had suggested another perspective. The former England international pointed out “There are really good players in England who are probably thinking that it hasn’t happened for them yet… And they are good value for the French league.”

GFFN | Nick Hartland