The Premier League season has only just concluded and already the rumour mill is in overdrive with transfer gossip. One name that seems to be on repeat is Chelsea’s Mason Mount, with the Cobham graduate linked with a move to join Ten Hag’s revolution at Manchester United.
Reports suggest that the England midfielder has agreed personal terms with the Red Devils and with Manchester United securing a return to the Champions League next season the move looks like an attractive one for both sides.
We take a look into what Mason Mount could bring to Manchester United if the deal is to go through this summer.
One of the defining characteristics of Mason Mount’s time at Chelsea was his evident versatility, playing in six different positions for West London club this season alone. This makes him a very desirable player which Ten Hag can utilise in many positions across the midfield and attack, offering a lot of flexibility.
It is most likely, though, that Mount will slot into a similar role to Christian Eriksen and join Casemiro a little deeper in midfield with the likes of Antony, Martial and Rashford ahead. There are quite a few similarities between Mount and Eriksen in that both provide a strong work-rate and pose a goalscoring threat, on-top of expertise from set pieces. In fact, Mason Mount’s statistically calculated strengths are taking set-pieces (very strong), Long shots (strong) and direct free-kicks (strong). Arguably, he offers a little more in the way of his pressing and hunting down possession than Eriksen, which alongside Casemiro will add even more intensity to the midfield.
⏸️ Players to reach double figures for both goals and assists in the Premier League since the start of the 2021/22 season:
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) June 1, 2023
🇪🇬 Mohamed Salah - 23G+13A
🏴 Jarrod Bowen - 12G+10A
🏴 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 - 𝟭𝟭𝗚+𝟭𝟬𝗔
🇪🇬 Mohamed Salah - 19G+12A
🏴 Bukayo Saka - 14G+11A pic.twitter.com/LddQKXGYnM
He can of course play in the Bruno Fernandes role too, and is also more than capable of chipping in with his fair share of goals and assists. Only three Chelsea players scored more goals than Mount’s three in th league this season and he also contributed two assists in his 24 Premier League Appearances. He is another fine playmaker and can create goalscoring opportunities for the United attack.
Since the start of the 2021/22 season, only Hakim Ziyech has created more big chances (15) for Chelsea than Mason Mount (13) and for United only Bruno Fernandes has accumulated more (47) in that timeframe. The prospect of having both Mount and Fernandes in the United side is certainly an appetising one for the likes of Marcus Rashford, and may be used as ammo for Ten Hag when on the hunt for a big money striker this summer.
At just 24, Mount also comes with a vast amount of European experience. He was part of the Chelsea team that won the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup in 2021/22 and has made a total of 35 appearances in the Champions League so far in his career.
Qualifying for the Champions League means that Man United will require further strength in depth next season and a move for the young Englishman looks to be a shrewd one.
