Roberto De Zerbi describes Geoffrey Kondogbia as ‘One of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in Marseille’ | OneFootball

Geoffrey Kondogbia’s (31) place in the Olympique de Marseille team had looked under threat when Roberto De Zerbi arrived over the summer.

It was no secret that the Italian manager’s arrival was bringing a sea change to the south coast and it appeared as if Kondogbia would be on the way out. By mid-July, the midfielder was reportedly put on the transfer list alongside Ismaïla Sarr (26) and Azzedine Ounahi (24).

However, over the course of Marseille’s preseason, Kondogbia worked to change De Zerbi’s mind. By the end of the transfer window, the midfielder’s hard work had paid off as he earned a spot in the manager’s plans. De Zerbi would look to make Kondogbia part of his midfield axis alongside Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (29).

Kondogbia has started all but one of Marseille’s games this season helping the club to record an unbeaten start to life under De Zerbi. His performances have earned the praise of his new manager, who admitted he was wrong about the midfielder.

“Kondogbia is one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in Marseille,” De Zerbi stated in his press conference today. “I like to change my mind. Sometimes, we coaches start with ideas and we don’t move on. I didn’t count on him initially, then I spoke to him over the phone and I had positive feelings.”

De Zerbi continued, “I had him train with us at the beginning. When I saw his quality, his desire to bounce back after a difficult season, I was very happy with him. He’s an exceptional lad, and a very strong player.”

GFFN | Nick Hartland