I feel like every time we talk about Mason Mount, we forget that he's actually a United player!
Despite being at the club for nigh on two years, he's hardly featured for all of Ruben Amorim, Ruud van Nistelrooy and the man whom we all still can't understand why he bought him (and gave him the number 7 shirt, which makes no sense to me) Erik ten Hag.
But perhaps we can now understand why he was brought to the club?
Mount is part of a quartet of players that could return to training soon as well as potentially a certain Ivorian.
As I said, Amorim cannot stress enough just how much he rates Maosn Mount.
As a side note he is one of those players whom you have to say his name and surname. It just doesn't sound right by saying just 'Mount.'
Anywho, our Portuguese manager always glows whenever speaking about the former Chelsea man. In a recent interview, the 40-year-old said: "I already said, I really, really love Mason Mount. He's a really talented player. I believe a lot in Mason Mount."
See, glowing from the manager.
He also mentioned things such as Mount's physical aspect in that he is in great shape and that he eats right. Amorim also believes that a player "who does the right things will always get the support of the club."
Even not long after his arrival, Amorim was full of praise for United's no 7: "You can see some moments and details that Mount is a proper footballer. We believe in him, I especially believe a lot in Mason Mount.”
Once more, he mentioned how he believes in him.
And I think the manager is so excited by this player because he sees him as ideal for his system, a player who can slot in perfectly in one of those two number 10 positions.
At the moment, United are okay in that area of the pitch. Both Garnacho and Zirkzee are doing a good job to a point where one would find it a little difficult to dislodge them from those positions.
However, even though they are doing reasonably well, neither of them are actual number 10s. Garnacho is more of a wide forward preferring to play on the left flank. Zirkzee can play slightly deeper as a false 9 or 9.5 or whatever (still don't know exactly what he is) but he is no specialist either. The Duthcman has nonetheless, looked a lot more at home in that area rather than playing as the full-on striker.
Amad was brilliant there as well before his injury with Eriksen being a better CAM than number 8. Captain Bruno is at his best when he is in that area too.
So we have no shortage of options for CAM. Yet even still, I believe Amorim is struggling to find his ideal number 10 for his system. This is where Mount can come in.
In saying all of this though, none of those mentioned played in a 3-4-3 system, other than Mount. He was Chelsea's best player under Thomas Tuchel during his two-and-a-half years in London.
The German also opted for the 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 formation. Mount was one of his two number 10s in those sides and was pivotal to all the good things Chelsea did not least including getting the match-winning assist in the Champions League final as well as picking up their player of the year award in both 2021 and 2022.
In this system, we know the importance of wing-backs. With Garnacho's habit of wanting to go wide at times, he can get in the way of the wing-back, be it Dorgu, Mazraoui or Dalot. Those players provide the width which isn't needed of one of those CAMs.
Zirkzee likes to drop deep a lot of the time which takes away from the potency of a number 10 in that final third. That isn't ideal either.
Eriksen isn't the future and looks set to depart and Amad is as good a number 10 as he is RWB. He can do both roles.
Bruno's best position in my opinion is number 10. He is our most creative player and we need him further forward yet with how often he's playing there, I believe Amorim sees his fellow Portguese (and younger brother 🤭) as more of a number 8/6.
In five of the last six games, the United skipper has been asked to do a job as one of the midfield pivots rather than anywhere up front.
This may have been forced upon Amorim because of injuries with him needing to get creative but whether it was forced upon him or it was by choice, I do feel like the manager will continue to play the captain in that deeper role.
What all of this means is that not only will Mason Mount's return mean more numbers in the squad but also that he could fit into this team, and sooner rather than later.
Btw, I'm not exactly sure when he'll be back but the signs are promising.
As the Englishman knows better than most how to play this role, it could be the key to unlocking a player like Dorgu or Dalot or Mazraoui as Mount is quite versatile.
The 26-year-old can be deployed on either side of the two 10s or play in midfield. At times under Frank Lampard, the then Chelsea man was used out wide. However, this took away from his strengths and abilities in the final third.
One of those strengths would be to stay on the inside channel allowing the wing-back more space out wide thanks to Mount occupying the opposing full-back. Another key aspect is that he is unselfish as he often looks to play the return ball to the wing-back whenever he receives it.
We know that we can be very individualistic more than we'd like with Garnacho in particular ignoring the overlapping runs.
On top of all this tactical stuff, Mount is quite creative and has an eye for goal. Yes he hasn't been involved in much going forward whilst at United thanks to his injuries, but with his movement, passing, awareness, tactical side of things and scoring, this is why I believe Amorim sees him as a key player for the rest of the season and potentially years to come under the Portuguese.
This all depends on whether he can stay fit though. This is undoubtedly Mount's biggest problem.
In his time at Old Trafford, he's been injured four times missing a total of 50 games and 261 days. In contrast, at Chelsea, he missed 18 games and 99 days over the course of four seasons.
I'm not sure why he became so injury prone since coming to United. Perhaps Chelsea knew about this and was the reason why they moved him on despite being one of their best players and 'proper chels' besides.
Should he remain fit, I don't see any reason why he cannot be a vital player for us in the future. Looking at his attributes, he most certainly will improve the team and make us more of a force to be reckoned with.
I like Mason Mount. I do believe there is a good player in there but it's just about those injuries. Stay fit and we'll have one top player. Amorim will be hoping for the same.
Do you think Mount will be an important player for Amorim? Do you think he'll stay fit for long enough to do so?
Background Image: Ruben Amorim and Mason Mount | Creator: Michael Regan | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2024 Getty Images via Goal