Roberto De Zerbi has sent Elye Wahi (21) a message of support in today’s press conference ahead of the match against AJ Auxerre. The misfiring striker has struggled to impress since making the move from RC Lens to Olympique de Marseille over the summer.
Last weekend, Wahi was dropped in favour of Neal Maupay (28) who made his third start of the campaign and scored the opener in Les Phocéens’ 2-1 win away at FC Nantes. Unlike Wahi, the former Brentford man has made the most of his time on the pitch.
The two strikers have both scored the same amount of goals (2) but Mauapy has recorded this total in far fewer minutes. It’s left some questioning whether De Zerbi will continue to rely on Maupay as his starting number nine going forward.
Roberto De Zerbi: ‘I am still in love with Wahi.’
However, De Zerbi suggested that he had not given up on the player who was brought in to lead the line for the Italian coach, “The hierarchy remains the same between Maupay and Wahi. I am still in love with Wahi as a player, [but] he has to integrate well. Maupay has more experience [and] the age difference also plays a role.”
De Zerbi continued with a warning to both players, “The striker must know how to score but also play and know how to press. We are not consistent enough in pressing for 90 minutes.”
