Prior to the FA Cup win over Liverpool, Mail Sport put it to Erik ten Hag: did he still have belief Mason Mount could be a key figure this season?
‘I’m convinced he will be [a key player],’ he said. ‘He didn’t have the chance to prove this point. But he will be a very good player for Manchester United.’
‘Class’ was one word Ten Hag used, and ahead of the midfielder’s return to Chelsea on Thursday Ten Hag called him a ‘fantastic football player’.
And so he isn’t short of endorsements and positive affirmations heading back to the club where his football journey started this week.
That will bring its own anxiety – the reception he will get may not be as kind as he hopes – but first and foremost he will see it as a chance to turn a miserable season around.
Mason Mount has had a stop-start beginning at Man United since joining from Chelsea
Erik ten Hag (right) is totally convinced that ‘fantastic’ Mount (left) will have a major impact
His 96th-minute goal at Brentford over Easter looked to be his breakout moment in a United shirt. His first goal for the club and the goal to see United snatch a smash-and-grab three points in west London. Only United conceded soon after and Mount’s goal was a mere footnote during the post-match inquest.
One thing United sources have indicated is that when it comes to Mount the belief is that form is temporary and class is permanent.
Ten Hag has been enamoured with Mount since seeing him while on loan at Vitesse Arnhem in the Netherlands.
Ten Hag and his staff would go on to track him during the 2017-18 campaign and the monitoring never really ceased on a player the Dutch coach found himself eager to work with.
Fast forward to May 2023 and it was Ten Hag and John Murtough sat around a table with Mount to sell him on how they envisioned his role in United’s plans. He would be a central and important piece, was the word.
Injuries and a lack of understanding where best to play him haven’t helped Mount’s cause
Earlier in the campaign he found himself deployed in a deeper role alongside Casemiro (left)
It is understood that internally at United there was a ‘now or never’ feeling about landing Mount, who was entering the final 12 months of his deal at Chelsea.
Should he have signed a new deal at Stamford Bridge or elected to move elsewhere – both Liverpool and Arsenal were pushing to land him – there was the very real chance that United’s window will have closed on the 25-year-old.
ESPN even went as far as to claim that talks with Arsenal had become so advanced that Mikel Arteta ‘privately told his coaches that a transfer was ‘a done deal’.
In the end it was United who won his signature and he put pen to paper on a five-year £250,000-a-week contract with the option of another year.
He was handed the Reds’ famous No 7 shirt upon his arrival at Old Trafford and this was supposed to be the start of a wonderful marriage.
There has been criticisms in some corners.
According to the Manchester Evening News, a current team-mate has caused doubt on the motive behind the move suggesting it was not for ‘football reasons’. That seems unfair but criticisms have extended to being mocked online for his unavailability.
He has been blighted by injuries and painted as a mercenary by some Chelsea fans for the cloud in which he left under. Mount has yet to undertake media duties at Man United outside of in-house club channels and that has been suggested is down to his reticence to discuss his Blues exit.
Mount (players row, right) often watches from the director’s box – but didn’t versus Chelsea
When Chelsea came to Old Trafford earlier in the season he kept his distance, not, for a change, sat in the director’s box where he and many other sidelined stars usually take in matches from.
There will be no hiding place on Thursday night, whether it is out there as a starter or on the bench and warming up within an arm’s length of an opinionated home crowd.
As well as trying to return to fitness as fast as possible Mount has been eager to both win over United’s fans as well as maintain a level of respect to those scorned Chelsea fans who feel one of their own walked out on them.
Autograph hunters outside Old Trafford have spoken online about how polite Mount is to them, routinely stopping for them on his own accord and showing no signs of being in a rush when they want to chat.
Even when he left Chelsea and he was targeted by some fans online, he wanted to be as sincere in his departure as he could be, a sign of his maturity and professionalism.
‘I know some of you won’t be happy with my decision,’ said Mount in a video message on Instagram, ‘but it’s what’s right for me at this moment in my career.’
He added: ‘I feel you deserve more than just a written statement. So I wanted to tell you directly how grateful I’ve been for all of your support over the last 18 years.’
Chelsea legend John Terry is one of those who has gone to bat for Mount publicly.
‘There’s another side to the story,’ the ex-Blues captain said in September. ‘Let’s not be too harsh on him when he comes back.’
And so now Mount returns, albeit with Ten Hag still appearing not to know quite exactly how to get the best out of his £60million midfielder.
He was brought in primarily because Ten Hag wanted a more progressive midfielder, a dynamic central figure who could move the ball forward quicker. Plus, his off-the-ball work has impressed every manager he has worked under.
But Mount has been trialled in a two-man midfield pivot, as a No 10, wide on the right and also as one of two No 8s. It’s gleaned just one goal and one assist to this point.
‘I think he would ideally like to play where [Bruno] Fernandes is, which is probably all over the pitch,’ former United midfielder Paul Scholes told the Webby & O’Neill podcast in November.
‘I think the manager signed him as an attacking midfield player. But it upsets the balance of the team. It upsets the legs he has in midfield.
‘I really think (Erik ten Hag) wanted to play him with Fernandes, but the two of them playing in the team (…) just doesn’t seem to be working now. It really leaves them open in midfield. To bring someone like Mason Mount into the team, he almost needs two holding midfielders with him to get the balance of the team right.’
Ten Hag has been fond of Mount since he saw him during his loan spell with Vitesse Arnhem
Ten Hag is keen to ease Mount back in and not push him over the edge after a long period out
He scored his first Man United goal against Brentford and will look to build on that vs Chelsea
Given Mount spent four months sidelined with a muscular problem it was a moot point for Ten Hag with the player not available for selection.
But heading into a run-in that could see both an FA Cup semi-final and final, as well as a late push for Champions League football, enough time has passed to truly understand how to maximise Mount’s talents.
Sources told ESPN that Mount made an effort to be part of team meetings that he wasn’t required to attend with a view to becoming more familiar with Ten Hag’s tactical demands. When he was fit to play it would be second nature. That was the thinking.
That report adds that there were many occasions when he was the last player to leave, a sign of his commitment to adapting and improving. It is therefore no surprise he is so highly thought of by coaching staff at Carrington.
Those you speak to about Mount speak about his positive outlook and how he has remained upbeat despite a lonely and gruelling rehab – now he and they will want to see that hard work translated into success on the pitch.
Whether he likes it or not the lights – and the camera lenses – will be bright on him back where it all began on Thursday. He can’t control how he is received but what he can control is how he performs if given the chance. If ever there was a time to show Chelsea what they are missing – it’s now.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
