Why Mason Mount is perfect for Manchester United

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After several successful seasons at Chelsea, it came as a surprise for Mason Mount to be on the transfer books this summer. Mount became something of a cult hero at Chelsea in his four-season stint, always acting as one of the Blues’ top performers.

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While it’s true that Mason Mount didn’t hit quite the same high notes in 2022-23, the same could be said of any Chelsea player. For Manchester United to now swoop in for one of the most highly rated midfielders on the planet at even a £60 million fee could be one of the signings of the summer. With that, we assess why Mason Mount is perfect for an Erik Ten Hag team, and why Mount’s career could be set to progress from here.

POSITIONING & ROLE

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Mason Mount often excels as somewhere between a ’10’ and an ‘8’. He’s perfectly capable playing in behind the striker in either the half-spaces or central channels, but he also performs well whenever operating deeper in the midfield.

Erik Ten Hag played with a 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 hybrid system throughout his Ajax days, and the club could excel with Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount on either side of Casemiro in that system. Encouragingly for the Red Devils, Mount can offer much of the same passing quality as Christian Eriksen from that deeper role if required, just with greater mobility and defensive work rate.

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This is imperative for an Erik Ten Hag team, where the Red Devils will look to control possession and win the ball back as soon as they lose it. Mason Mount can do both tasks incredibly effectively, and that will be useful to have anywhere in his midfield lines.

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But this is not a player that should compete for spaces with Bruno Fernandes. Mount reads the game expertly well, and knows how and when to adopt positions on the field in relation to the space, his teammates and the opposition. Constantly scanning the field before and after he receives allows him to make quick decisions under pressure, and this makes him a particularly valuable asset anywhere in Erik Ten Hag’s midfield.

Beyond positioning on paper, this simply means Ten Hag’s tendencies toward ‘positional play’ can continue to flourish with Mount at the helm, floating between a number of roles throughout the course of a single-game.

As he wonderfully demonstrated throughout his time under Thomas Tuchel, Mount even has the capability to play as an attacking midfielder on either the right or left of the attack. If Ten Hag wants to stick with the 4-2-3-1, Mount could fulfill four different positions.

In getting the most out of the midfielder’s box-to-box mobility and precision passing, that ‘8’ position along Casemiro might become a natural home. But a manager as flexible as Ten Hag will love having the capacity to play Mount anywhere in his attacking trio depending on the moment.

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As we discussed with Liverpool’s signing of Alexis Mac Allister, this is like three players for the price of one. Mount can play as the Christian Eriksen ‘Tempo Setter’ from that deeper role, but can also play as either an ‘Inverted Winger’ or ‘Creative Ten’ further forward. If United then want to shift into a different shape such as a 4-3-3, he’d make for an excellent ‘Box to Box Midfielder’ as seen in his energetic start to life under Frank Lampard all those years ago.

£60 million is starting to look like a bargain now, isn’t it?

ATTACKING PRINCIPLES

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Mason Mount excels with the ball at his feet, and coolly remains calm under pressure in any area of the pitch.

His creativity and clever passing extends all the way into the final third, where he can score and assist goals for fun at his best. But even if the end product does not always come off, the power that Mount exudes always causes trouble for the opposition. His speed of play is simply at a heightened level, and he has that keen awareness when it comes to ‘La Pausa’ – the awareness of when to slow the play down and then speed back up to lure the opposition into a mistake.

He has this underrated ability to switch the play and loop long passes over the top, making him a creative threat both from that deeper role or further forward as more of a ’10’. The 24-year-old completed close to 74% of his long passes in 2022-23, ranking well above most in his mold.

But what always impresses about Mason Mount is sometimes the difficult to quantify progressive running and immaculate off-the-ball movement. He always seems to be in the right place to receive killer passes, or to make his impact felt for someone else to shine.

Mount’s heatmap spikes nicely across all areas of the pitch given his versatility, but he loves operating in the left-half-spaces in particular. Should United push Rashford into a centre-forward’s position more prominently, the left-wing could be a fun hideout spot for the Brit in 2023-24.

Mount’s 6.64 progressive passes received ranks in the top 4% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues, which generally translates into more opportunities for goals and assists.

On the attacking front, Mount provides an incredibly versatile option, that should be destined to increase on his goal tallies with the swarm of talent around him at United.

DEFENSIVE PRINCIPLES

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One of the essential reasons why Mount has always been a first name on the team sheet for both club and country is that he also excels on the defensive end. His energy and work ethic are second to none, often helping to his team to quickly win back possession or force mistakes.

He demonstrated ferocity and effectiveness in timing of his challenges and pressing from the front throughout the Tuchel era, which Erik Ten Hag will now love to have within all of his counter-pressing principles at United.

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No midfielder in Europe’s top five leagues blocked more shots across the last 365 days than Mason Mount, and his duelling and tackle percentages outshine most other box-to-box midfielders on the planet. That often comes from a keen awareness of how to use his body to usher the attacker away from danger, with his physicality always aiding his defensive quests.

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Crucially, Mount also loves to see what options lie ahead after winning back possession for his team. He’ll often be the one to make the tackle and then immediately burst forward on the ball for his team in transition, leading counter attacks with his sublime speed and quick turnover.

This is where Mount will also prove to be valuable in a variety of positions. As an ‘8’, that defensive presence can shine in a Jude Bellingham-esque way, where Mount can remain crucial to the initial counter-press and then help the team fall back into shape and motor side to side.

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He’s not afraid to do the dirty work, and that can also become useful at the front end of the pitch, where he’s an excellent option to help lead the press, and knows other left-sided players like Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford well from the national team.

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There are very few holes in Mason Mount’s game, and he surpasses most others in his mold in just about every area. This is a phenomenal signing by Manchester United, and one that could easily help transform the team to that next level they’re aspiring to achieve in the next few years. Chelsea have lost a good one, but it’s Manchester United’s gain heading into the 2023-24 season.

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