Manchester United have kick-started their 2023 summer transfer window by signing Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount. The English midfielder joins on a five-year deal running until the summer of 2028 with the option to extend for another year.
The Red Devils have parted with £55 million to secure the signing. The deal also includes £5 million as potential add-ons. The 24-year-old had a contract with the Blues until only 2024, prompting them to cash in. United had to stave off competition from Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich to seal the transfer.
The England international will add more depth to Erik ten Hag’s roster for the 2023-24 season. He will most likely play alongside Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro in the middle of the park. Scott McTominay, Fred, and Christian Eriksen are also available, while the likes of Kobbie Mainoo may also see more minutes this season.
Mason Mount: Time at Chelsea
Mason Mount spent two years on separate loans before cracking the first-team at Stamford Bridge. At Vitesse, he played 39 games and accumulated 14 goals and 10 assists. He then spent a year at Derby County under Frank Lampard and managed 11 goals and 6 assists in 44 games (via Transfermarkt).
Mount reunited with Lampard at Chelsea in the 2019-20 season. He immediately stamped down his credentials as a regular starter for the first team. The Englishman was mainly used as an attacking midfielder, either in a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1. He also played a few games on the wing. He finished as one of Chelsea’s best players of the season, with 8 goals and 6 assists in 53 games across all competitions.
Gareth Southgate called up the former Derby County loanee to the national team on the back of his impressive performances. The 24-year-old made his debut as a substitute against Bulgaria in a 4-0 win in September 2019. Since then, the attacking midfielder has been a constant for the Three Lions. He has featured with the National Team in the 2020 Euros, 2022 World Cup, and the Nations League. In 36 games, he has accounted for 5 goals and 5 assists.
Mason Mount will bring his midfield elegance to @ManUtd ✨ pic.twitter.com/N95k4PLmmf
— Premier League (@premierleague) July 5, 2023
The Blues sacked Frank Lampard midway through the 2020-21 season on the back of poor performances. New manager Thomas Tuchel deployed the central midfielder as an inside forward in a 3-4-3 set-up. This formation allowed him to focus on attacking down the right-half-space behind Kai Havertz and beside Timo Werner. The wing-backs pushed higher up to create space for the forwards too.
Chelsea won the Champions League that season, with Mason Mount assisting Kai Havertz for the winning goal. The next season, he finished as Chelsea’s top goal scorer and assist provider in the Premier League. With 21 goal contributions, the 24-year-old was far ahead of Chelsea’s second-most influential player, Reece James (14).
However, the 2022-23 season went in a direction no one at Stamford Bridge could have foreseen. Thomas Tuchel was sacked early, and his replacement Graham Potter also didn’t last too long. The Blues finished a humiliating 12th in the league, and the Englishman’s form also dipped.
The attacking midfielder still received regular minutes, but his influence clearly dropped. As Chelsea changed formations and rotated various players, Mason Mount was used as a winger, attacking midfielder, central midfielder, and wide midfielder. He managed just 3 goals and 2 assists in 34 games, his worst output since making his professional debut.
Role at Manchester United?
In his first season, Erik ten Hag has mainly used the 4-2-3-1 formation. However, the positioning of the double pivot has not been very strict. Any one of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen has been allowed the freedom to roam higher up the field.
Towards the latter half of the season, the Dutchman also experimented with Bruno Fernandes as a deep-lying play-maker. This allowed the Portuguese international to drop deeper and pick up the ball. Fernandes could then try to directly find the forwards using the space he found deeper on the field. The manager also used the former Sporting CP man as a winger when he wanted more defensive stability.
Ten Hag could use either one of these combinations to fit Mason Mount into the XI. Manchester United have not yet signed a striker to replace Wout Weghorst. This could mean that Marcus Rashford plays as a striker with Fernandes on the wing. If a new striker does arrive, Christian Eriksen could also drop to the bench.
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The Red Devils would have the flexibility of using Mount and Fernandes interchangeably. The England international is more effective in finding pockets of space in dangerous situations and moving the ball quickly. The Portuguese midfielder has been United’s primary goal threat in recent seasons, and would greatly benefit from some support in the midfield too.
How should Manchester United line up with Mason Mount for the 2023-24 season? Let us know in the comments.
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