Manchester United midfielder Mason Mount has been an unmitigated disaster at the club since joining in the summer 2023 transfer window for a whopping 60 million pounds, as he’s come nowhere near to giving the Red Devils a return on their inflated initial investment.
The shame is on Manchester United for signing a player Chelsea clearly wanted to jettison due to, ahem, mounting injury concerns and a knowledge that he cannot play as a starting 8 for a top team in the Premier League and is, instead, solely a glorified No. 10.
Well, Manchester United already had a significantly better No. 10 in Bruno Fernandes, who has only distinguished himself further in the face of his critics since the Mount transfer, whereas the England international has only added new critics.
However, with Mount finally back from another significant injury and a new manager in charge in Portuguese international Ruben Amorim, there is caged optimism that, perchance, Amorim can get at least something out of Mount in 2025.
Mason Mount is a much better 10 than 8
According to the Telegraph’s James Ducker, via mufcmpb, Amorim is itching to have a fit Mount in the fold and views the Englishman as a fit for the No. 10 role in his system.
Amorim often likes to make use of two 10’s, so there is a role for all three of Alejandro Garnacho, Mount, and, obviously, the captain Fernandes to get minutes as playmakers in the scheme, which favors attacking through the middle while supplementing width from a pair of wing backs.
Mount is definitely better as a 10. That was the case at Chelsea, where his finest work in the Premier League often came as a playmaker, and he was also providing goals and assists en route to a Champions League trophy under Thomas Tuchel in 2020/21.
Getting Mount in a position where he can take shots in and around the penalty area while slipping passes to strikers Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund, who could both use another creator besides Bruno to give them service, could be a major key (alert) for Manchester United.
The attack has been too anemic this season not to try new things, and while there should be skepticism around Mount with how out of form he’s been and how little he can be counted on due to injuries, there is actually no questioning his ability as a playmaker. A healthy Mount can only help and is indeed a potential asset for Mr. Amorim this season.
Joe Soriano covers West Ham for Green Street Hammers and writes about Real Madrid for The Real Champs. He has extensive experience covering world football since 2014. Joe is an editor for The Trivela Effect, where he covers the biggest clubs in European football. He has watched professional sports regularly since 2002 and can be found playing the same sports he covers with his friends.