Man who reportedly needs other people? (7)
I believe the answer is:
masseur
'man who reportedly needs other people?' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both people as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps you can see an association between them that I can't see?
'man who reportedly' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'man' could be 'r' (abbreviation for rook, a chess piece or 'man') and 'r' is present in the answer.
'reportedly' could be 'e' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'e' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for masseur that I've seen before include "One working in parlour" , "He kneads the body" , "Parlour worker" , "One rubbing and kneading painful muscles" , "Professional rubber?" .)