Mason Mount is a top target for Manchester United as manager Erik ten Hag looks to inject fresh impetus into his side and build on an encouraging first season in charge.
The deal has some way to go before we might see the 24-year-old England midfielder posing at Old Trafford with a red shirt, with the clubs still split on the player’s valuation.
United seem determined to get their man, making a third bid of £55m, as negotiations continue.
Mount has been an important player for Chelsea since breaking into their first team in 2019-20, but will he fit in at Manchester United? And how?
‘A top player and a top lad’
United’s interest in Mount is understandable.
Here is an industrious, intelligent, creative midfielder, entering his prime with a wealth of Premier League and international experience under his belt. What is not to like? Digging deeper only makes the case more compelling.
Since making his Blues debut in 2019 – following successful loan spells in the Netherlands with Vitesse Arnhem and the Championship with Derby – Mount has amassed 195 appearances for the club, scoring 33 goals.
He helped Chelsea win the Champions League in 2021, starting in the final against Manchester City, and also has Fifa Club World Cup and Uefa Super Cup medals in his collection.
Like many in Chelsea’s squad last season, Mount struggled with form, which was compounded by injury issues. In what became a turbulent and fraught campaign for the Blues, seeing them finish 12th in the Premier League, he was targeted for abuse by some fans on social media.
However, he has few bigger advocates than the man who was his boss on loan at Derby, handed him his Chelsea debut and under whose management he spent the back end of 2022-23.
“I’m not going to tell anyone what opinion they should have on football, but if anyone thinks Mason Mount is not already a top-level player then I’m not sure what they’re seeing, in my opinion,” said Frank Lampard in April.
“From working with Mason, you can ask myself, you can ask Thomas Tuchel, you can ask Gareth Southgate, you can ask Graham Potter. It’s clear he’s a top player and a top lad.
“One thing I know about Mason, the first thing a top player should have is a real hunger to succeed and play and do well for Chelsea, and he’s had that since the first day I took him to Derby. That’s simple for me. He’s still a young player. He can go even further but he’s already a top player.”
It is a sentiment echoed by England boss Gareth Southgate, who has given the player 36 caps, including four at the World Cup finals in Qatar.
“He is an exceptional player,” said Southgate. “He finds space intelligently, he manipulates the ball very well, he creates chances and he scores goals.”
Southgate’s England have benefited to the tune of five goals from Mount during his international career. His best scoring season for Chelsea came in 2021-22, in which he provided 13 across all competitions. The 58 chances he created that season were also the most of any Chelsea player.
An upgrade on Eriksen at Old Trafford?
Mount is a versatile midfielder, capable of operating in an attacking role at number 10, or in from the right or left. He’s even occasionally operated as a false nine for the Blues.
He would be an option in a front three behind a central striker, but with Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho, Antony and Christian Eriksen, Ten Hag is hardly short of players in that role. Marcus Rashford is another player who could play in that three, particularly if United sign a striker this summer.
Another potential role for Mount at United would be in a deeper position, operating alongside Casemiro as a progressive passer in a midfield two.
It is a spot that was occupied predominantly by Eriksen, when fit, or Marcel Sabitzer last season for United.
With Sabitzer having returned to Bayern Munich following his loan spell and Eriksen into his 30s, United could see Mount as a younger, more mobile upgrade for a creative role from deep.
Since making his Premier League debut in August 2019, he has 22 assists to his name – 26 players have more in the English top flight in that timescale.
In the 2021-22 league campaign – the last in which he featured for more than 2,000 minutes – he averaged 6.25 progressive passes per 90 minutes (putting him in the 93rd percentile according to fbref.com, making him one of the better performers amongst his peers in the division).
He also averaged, per 90 minutes, 2.21 key passes (90th percentile), 0.26 expected assists (97th percentile) and 4.53 shot-creating actions (87th percentile).
In signing Mount, United would be making a statement of intent to kick on from a good first season under Ten Hag that delivered their first piece of silverware in six years – the Carabao Cup – and saw them return to the Champions League.
Question marks over Sancho or Antony?
BBC Sport’s Simon Stone: “The move for Mount is a fascinating development, if only because Manchester United would seem to have greater priorities in other areas of the pitch and the restriction on their summer budget is well known.
He clearly doesn’t address the centre forward position which is an obvious area of weakness and he is not supplementing the defensive midfield unit either.
However, what Mount is providing is another creative option. In addition to being able to find room in tight spaces and having the vision to open up defences, Gareth Southgate has felt Mount is diligent in his defensive work, which is something United have had a problem with and manager Erik ten Hag is keen to solve.
It would also mean there was not as much need to play Christian Eriksen quite so often as, after the Dane returned from injury last season, he didn’t have a sustained impact across the whole game.
Nevertheless, if Ten Hag continues to operate with three attacking players behind a central striker, and Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes are both deemed automatic choices, it does place question marks over Jadon Sancho and Antony, who between them cost United in excess of £150m.”
