After weeks of negotiations, Manchester United have finally agreed on a deal to sign Chelsea’s 24-year-old midfielder Mason Mount.
Mount has been the priority target for Erik ten Hag this summer and as per the reports, United have agreed to pay £55m + £5m add-ons for the England international who has one year left on his contract with the Blues.
Mount had shown his desire to leave even before the recent season came to an end but Chelsea were hopeful they will be able to make him agree to a new deal. However, the boyhood blue seems to have been more attracted with Ten Hag’s future plans at Old Trafford which is why he is going to be a Red Devil very soon.
Nonetheless, Chelsea have gotten a great deal for someone who has less than 12 months left on his contract and this has raised the feeling amongst many people that Manchester United, once again, have overpaid for one of their targets.
How will Mason Mount slot into Man United’s first XI next season?
Man United have not been the brightest club in the transfer market in recent seasons but thankfully under Erik ten Hag, the club have not spent money blindly.
Yes, they had made some big-money signings last year but most of these players have come good this season and we think Mason Mount will be another one of Ten Hag’s successful signings.
The England international made his senior debut in 2017 and since then he’s gone out on loan to Vitesse and Derby County while making 195 appearances for the Blues. He’s scored 33 and assisted 37 goals for Chelsea and the 22/23 season was realistically the first campaign where the midfielder failed to fulfil expectations.
The 24-year-old is primarily an attacking midfielder but we think ETH is planning to use him in a more central role next season.
Mason Mount is more than apt at playing in the No 10 role but the United boss won’t dare put Bruno Fernandes on the bench. On the odd occasion, the Portuguese might play out on the right wing to accommodate the incoming midfielder in the No 10 position but primarily, Fernandes will be the attacking midfielder with Mount and Casemiro playing in central/defensive midfield.
Mason Mount is set to be the long-term heir to Christian Eriksen who was brilliant for Man United last season but the former Spurs man just does not have the legs to play 90 minutes every weekend.
Ten Hag will start the 23/24 season with Mount and Casemiro as the midfield pivot but as the campaign progresses, the manager might also experiment with Casemiro as the lone defensive midfielder and then using Fernandes and Mount further up the pitch.
£60 million is definitely a lot of money for someone who was going to be a free agent next summer but Mount is just 24 years old so it is not the end of the world for Manchester United.
Whether he will be successful or not is anybody’s guess but unlike his predecessors, Ten Hag is very clear about how he wants his team to play and he’s making signings with that exact vision. The likes of Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez have been essential to how Man United played this season and even existing players like Wan-Bissaka and Rashford had upped their game. Mount is said to be very interested in playing under the Dutch manager and over the years, the midfielder has been dubbed as the ideal manager’s player. Despite many pundits and experts labeling him as an ordinary midfielder, almost every manager who’s managed him has rated him highly and has consistently kept using him.
Option 1: Casemiro & Mason Mount as the central midfielders with Fernandes playing in the No 10 role.
Option 2: Casemiro as the defensive midfielder and Mount & Fernandes as the advanced midfielders.
