The England midfielder will miss Wednesday’s meeting with his former club as he continues to struggle to make an impact at Old Trafford
When Mason Mount signed for Manchester United from Chelsea in July, the first thing he talked about was his experience of winning trophies and his desire to do that with his new club, who had recently won their first piece of silverware in six years by lifting the Carabao Cup.
“Everyone can see that the club has made big steps forward under Erik ten Hag. Having met with the manager and discussed his plans, I couldn’t be more excited for the seasons ahead and am ready for the hard work expected here,” Mount told United’s official media. “I am hugely ambitious and I know how amazing it feels to win major trophies and what it takes to do it. I will be giving everything to experience that again at Manchester United.”
Mount’s words painted a hugely positive vision of his future, but they have not rung true. After making so much progress last season, United have gone backwards in their second campaign under Ten Hag. The Red Devils have lost an astonishing 10 out of 21 games in all competitions, are out of the Carabao Cup and on the brink of exiting the Champions League.
They went into last the international break sat sixth in the Premier League and the most in-form team in the English top-flight, but the Red Devils have been riding their luck: all of their league wins have been by one goal and come against teams in the bottom half of the table. Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Newcastle was a timely reminder of what happens to this team when they come up against the Premier League’s top sides.
Mount has also gone backwards. He has been the club’s most disappointing signing of the summer, having just one assist in the Carabao Cup to show for his £60 million ($75m) transfer fee and not starting a league match since early October.
Christian Eriksen’s injury, however, looked to have given Mount an ideal opportunity to reignite his career and lift United’s miserable season. Eriksen remains on the sidelines after being forced off against Luton Town with a knee problem, opening up another place in United’s midfield after Casemiro was ruled out for the rest of 2023 with a hamstring injury.
Mount has made just four Premier League starts for United, but was set for a run in Ten Hag’s starting XI for a crucial sequence of matches, which included Wednesday’s meeting his former club at Old Trafford. However, Ten Hag confirmed off the back of the international break that Mount had suffered in injury in training which looked set to rule him out for at least three weeks.
This could have been a key moment for Mount to prove his worth, but instead is just the next stage of what is becoming a waking nightmare.
Hope of a fresh start
Mount arrived at United on the back of a desperately disappointing season with Chelsea, who endured their worst-ever Premier League campaign after cycling through three managers in 2022-23. Mount barely featured for the Blues towards the end of the campaign, making just three appearances in the final three months as it became clear he was not going to sign a new contract with his boyhood club. His declining form did not affect his price tag though, as United ended up paying £60m to sign him ahead of Liverpool and Arsenal.
They were delighted when they got the deal done for the 24-year-old, who was one of the top players in the Premier League just one season before. Mount’s off-field problems were seen as a crucial caveat in his decline, and it was expected that he would quickly rediscover his old self when given a fresh start with United.
Difficult bedding-in process
But that has not happened, to put it mildly. Rather than a blip, Mount seems to be on a steep decline.
His problems began in pre-season, as he failed to make an impact on the tour of the United States. He only impressed in the win over Arsenal when playing on the right of the midfield three and struggled in defeats to Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid, playing as a No.10 in the latter.
Mount started United’s Premier League season opener against Wolves in a 4-1-4-1, but the formation left United far too exposed and Wolves ran Ten Hag’s side ragged, being desperately unlucky to lose 1-0. The result was that Mount dropped deeper for United’s next game against Tottenham, but struggled again and ended up picking up a hamstring injury which further derailed his settling in period.
No shots on target
Upon his return, he started five games, but three of them ended in defeat. His only positive contribution was his assist in the 3-0 Carabao Cup win over Crystal Palace, of which he played 45 minutes.
He is yet to score or provide an assist in the Premier League in 2023 for either Chelsea or United, and he has had just three shots in the league for United, none of which have been on target. His expected goals figure is a measly 0.2.
Mount is also less involved in the play overall. He has made only 29.5 successful passes per 90 minutes, a stark decline compared to 48.3 passes per 90 minutes in the 2020-21 season, when Chelsea won the Champions League. He is also making fewer progressive passes and progressive carries.
It is a remarkable drop off for a player who managed 13 goals and 16 assists in the 2021-22 season, and nine goals and nine assists the season before that.
Too versatile for his own good
One reason for Mount’s struggles is that he has not been given a clear role in the team, with Ten Hag playing him on both wings, as a No.10 and as a deep-lying playmaker sitting alongside Casemiro. The Dutchman, who first set eyes on Mount when he was playing for Vitesse and tried to sign him for Ajax in 2018, has spoken on numerous occasions of Mount’s versatility.
“His vision is to play the offensive [midfield role]. But also he wants to be multi-functional, he wants to be complete,” he said after signing him in July. “When you’re playing in midfield, you have to attack, but you also you have to defend. I’m sure he will bring dynamism into our game and that was one of our analysis conclusions we made after last season. We need [to be] more dynamic in the midfield department.”
But Mount’s versatility has meant he has been moved around frequently and he has not managed to thrive in any of the positions he has played, with the exception of a bright 45 minutes against a second-string Palace side.
Failing to dovetail with Fernandes
For all of Mount’s ability to play in different roles, it is clear that he is most useful in the final third, providing through-balls or finishing off moves. But he has been unable to thrive in his favoured role due to the presence of Bruno Fernandes, who has stayed fit all season and, on his day, is United’s most influential and reliable attacker.
Mount is unlikely to usurp the captain from the team and be United’s playmaker, while when he has played alongside Fernandes, the two players have either tended to get in each other’s way or left the team too open.
“I think he would ideally like to play where Fernandes is, which is probably all over the pitch,” Paul Scholes said on the Webby & O’Neill podcast. “I think the manager signed him as an attacking midfield player. But it upsets the balance of the team. It upsets the legs he has in midfield.
“I really think the manager wanted to play him with Fernandes, but the two of them playing in the team just doesn’t seem to be working now. It really leaves them open in midfield. To bring someone like Mason Mount into the team, he almost needs two holding midfielders with him to get the balance of the team right.”
Little choice but to drop deep
With Sofyan Amrabat, Scott McTominay and Hannibal Mejbri being United’s only available holding midfielders at the moment, United do not have the personnel to carry Mount and Fernandes, so the only option is for one of them to drop deeper into the double pivot.
Fernandes was forced to deputise in the holding midfield role on occasion last season while Casemiro was suspended and performed admirably there, meaning he could be a better option than Mount, allowing the England international to play further forward and with more freedom.
However, given Fernandes has bailed United out at crucial stages this season, pulling off moments of brilliance to rescue wins over Burnley, Nottingham Forest and Fulham, Ten Hag is much more likely to prefer his captain over a player who has not scored or provided an assist in the league for almost a year.
Mount, therefore, has little choice but to learn the trade of deep-lying playmaker and master it.
Adapt or die
Too many United players have shirked responsibility in the last few years or complained about playing in their least favourite position. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed in a recent interview with The Athletic that two players declined the offer to wear the captain’s armband when he was in charge, and said Jadon Sancho was unhappy about being asked to play on the right wing as he preferred the left, which is usually occupied by Marcus Rashford.
The fact is, very few footballers deserve to have a team constructed to suit their preferences and they need to be able to adapt to suit the needs of their team instead. And that’s what the best teams oblige them to do.
John Stones managed to morph from centre-back into marauding midfielder in the middle of last season and Trent Alexander-Arnold has done the same. From Gareth Bale to Ryan Giggs, Bastian Schweingsteiger to Phillip Lahm, and Andrea Pirlo to Javier Mascherano, modern football is littered with examples of players who reinvented themselves in a new position.
Mount is blessed with a broader skillset than many of his peers, so it is time – once he is fit again – for him to prove he really is as versatile as everyone says.
