Manchester United are on the verge of landing their man.
It took four bids to prise Mason Mount from Chelsea — the clincher, as reported by The Athletic, an offer of £55million plus £5million in add-ons — but their persistence is about to pay off. The midfielder is due to undertake a medical in Manchester on Monday, with United’s determination to strike a deal indicative of the esteem in which they hold the player.
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Erik ten Hag was fully behind the move for the 24-year-old, having tracked Mount since the player spent the 2017-18 season on loan at Vitesse Arnhem in the Eredivisie. Mount shone during Vitesse’s 3-2 win over Ten Hag’s Ajax in March 2018.
Five years on, Ten Hag wants to bring Mount to Old Trafford because of his technique on the ball but also, importantly, his application off it. He is seen at United as a modern midfielder, capable of carrying out specific tactical instructions and leading the press, a key component of Ten Hag’s approach.
His final season at Chelsea was affected by injury and not having a stable position. But in 2021-22 he scored 11 times and made 10 assists in the Premier League — one of only three players to do so that season. It is this output United feel they can tap into further.
His versatility is also part of what appeals to United. He has played predominantly as a No 10, which is the role mainly occupied by Bruno Fernandes, but also at times last season by Wout Weghorst. Mount offers a much better fit when Ten Hag opts to shift Fernandes to the wing or rest him.
“Mount is a front-foot player, with a good goal record, who can protect the ball in high-field positions, I think he’s a little less rash than Fernandes,” says a source — speaking anonymously to protect relationships — who has worked with United.
Mount can also play deeper, and signing a mobile No 8 has been on United’s wishlist. Christian Eriksen enjoyed a good season after signing on a free transfer but tended to tire in games, whereas Mount would be expected to maintain his energy for the full match. He has played on the left occasionally too, which would allow flexibility for Marcus Rashford to go up front.
Despite a poor season in an unbalanced Chelsea side, Mount brings plenty of positives to Old Trafford. The Athletic drills into the data to see how he will fit in.
At Chelsea, Mount’s positional versatility has allowed him to garner a wealth of high-level experience. He does not turn 25 until January, yet he has already played almost 12,000 minutes in the Premier League and the Champions League since breaking into the first team, more than any other player at the club.
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Across four varied seasons in three distinct systems, the Cobham graduate became a clear favourite of each manager; ranking in the top five players for league minutes under Frank Lampard, Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter. His energy, flexibility and availability consistently gave him the edge in an ultra-competitive squad.
Looking to his touch map across the past two campaigns, his adaptability is clear to see.
His prolific 2021-22 campaign saw the majority of his attacking touches in the right channel, with a high proportion coming in advanced areas to the right side of the box, a zone from which he created 24 chances and provided three assists.
Last year, however, Mount was drafted in on the left, tending to operate in deeper areas and tasked with progressing the ball. Generally further away from goal, his attacking metrics suffered, but a near total coverage of the attacking half illustrates his comfort at receiving the ball in a wide range of situations across the pitch.
In this respect, Mount’s technical ability and two-footedness often allow him to wriggle free of high-pressure situations and keep the ball moving. He isn’t limited by awkward passing angles, and is able to spread the play both left and right with relative accuracy, while keeping things shorter and safer when facing his own goal.
As his pass sonar confirms, taking into account his varied role across the last two seasons, Mount is able to spin 360° with the ball at his feet and link up with his team-mates, adding not only an unpredictability to his game, but security on the ball as United look to build up from the back.
It also shows he is a positive passer of the ball, with a solid forward-pass accuracy of 64.6 per cent in the 2022-23 season.
Not world-beating statistics, but more examples of pleasing technical ability to add to an already well-rounded, mouldable skill-set that will be helpful for Ten Hag all over the pitch.
In more attacking situations, Mount’s key strength lies in his elusive movement, constantly ghosting into spaces between the opposition defence and midfield to receive the pass and turn. Even in his more conservative role this season, Mount received an average of 6.2 progressive passes per game, around the same rate as Bruno Fernandes.
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His performances are littered with similar examples to the below against Newcastle, where he scans over his shoulder multiple times before dropping into a pocket of space to create the passing angle. He subsequently turns, carries the ball forward, and finds Kai Havertz in a more advanced position.
Here against Brentford, too, Mount elects to drop out from between the lines, picking the ball up from Kalidou Koulibaly.
In doing so, he drags Mads Roerslev out of his defensive shape, obliging Zanka to step across and cover Marc Cucurella. Central space opens up for Havertz, and Mount fires the pass through.
In short, Mount can be a useful swivel in the midfield — he consistently creates the passing option, receives the ball in advanced areas, and continues moving it forward himself.
Able to bring that ability to the left side of midfield, if Eriksen needs support, or indeed the right, where United were often slightly light in attacking build-up last season, Mount can certainly bring positivity and imagination across the width of the final third.
Last campaign was undoubtedly the toughest for Mount, but previous evidence suggests he should be able to chip in with attacking returns himself.
Across his four-year Premier League career, he has six more goals than any Chelsea team-mate, as well as seven more assists, totalling 49 goal contributions. Averaging 2.5 shots per game across this time, he’s a player that likes to arrive late into the box, but also trusts his handy ball-striking technique from distance, as seen from his shot map below.
Creatively, too, Mount is capable of threading through the killer pass when the opportunity presents. His delivery from wide areas is particularly good, averaging 4.8 crosses per game, and he is happy to make underlapping runs into the channels to get into those crossing positions. Last season, only Havertz averaged more off-the-ball runs for Chelsea in the Premier League, again pointing to that energy and enthusiasm from midfield.
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His set-piece delivery will be another bonus, having provided 13 assists from dead-ball situations in the past five seasons — only four players in the Premier League have since supplied more. He tends to favour the flat, whipped cross towards the goalkeeper, for onrushing defenders to help on their way.
Mount scored only three times and got two assists in the Premier League last season, so has offensive points to prove. With a similarly hard-working Bruno Fernandes alongside him, a flexible midfield structure should give the 24-year-old ample opportunity to find his way into more valuable goal-scoring positions.
Even with such solid attacking numbers, though, arguably the greatest upside of Mount’s arrival will be the defensive tenacity he brings on the counter-press.
Ten Hag seemed to struggle filling both No 8 positions last season with athletic midfielders off the ball, both technically and physically capable of springing into challenges as soon as the ball is lost to keep constant pressure on the opposition.
Most drastically, the manager deployed six-foot-five striker Weghorst in the left half-space in a dramatic 2-2 draw against Barcelona at Camp Nou, and subsequently against Leicester City in the Premier League, as below.
Mount, however, brings reliably high energy off the ball, having applied an average of 12.8 pressures in the middle third per game last season, the second-most of any Chelsea player behind Conor Gallagher.
Again, looking across the past two seasons, the 24-year-old’s tackle and interception map reveals a defensive persistence across the middle third. Able to step in and win the ball across the width of the pitch, he can play a part in any defensive role in the middle third, and will often work hard to organise the press from within.
Mount has been perfecting this side of his game for several years. He won the Under-19 European Championship with England in 2017, playing as the No 10 in a team that included Reece James and Aaron Ramsdale. In the final against Portugal, where he set up two goals, Mount faced Manchester United full-back Diogo Dalot.
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He was essential to the team’s work out of possession, acting as the catalyst for England’s press, with other forwards such as Ryan Sessegnon, Ben Brereton-Diaz, Isaac Buckley-Ricketts, and Lukas Nmecha, operating around his lead.
Eric Steele was at that tournament with England, who were led by Keith Downing, now first-team coach at Birmingham. Steele, a goalkeeping coach, tells The Athletic: “We used to set the trap, Mason was that way. If we lost the ball he would set the press. He would know and go first, they would all follow him. We would work it in training but he was the one who knew how to set the trigger.
“He would either lead by example or say, ‘I’m going’, and he would go. You always need someone who either does it or says it. He did both. So we could drop mid-block and he’d say, ‘No problem, we’re just dropping.’ Then it meant if Nmecha sprang, Mount knew exactly where to go and drop in behind.”
Steele, who worked at United for five years between 2008 and 2013, adds: “He knows the game, he is a very intelligent player. He can score goals. He’s one of the most perfect 10s I’ve seen. He was our frontline, our maestro, he set the tone, good with both feet. Then he could see a pass, which is important, and he would go beyond the front man.
“He is great at nicking the ball, which will suit Ten Hag. He is not a tackler, he nicks the ball off people, he’s clever.”
All in all, this deal certainly seems a step in the right direction for Manchester United.
Ten Hag has secured a player he wants, after tough negotiating, for what the club feels is a fair price, taking a coveted player off the market in the process. And Mount, with his best years ahead of him, has the fresh start he needs after a difficult campaign just gone.
Lively and adaptable, while tidy and progressive on the ball, Mount certainly represents an upgrade on playing out-of-position strikers in midfield, while his flexibility can be a problem-solver if injuries befall United once more.
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There is still work to do for the club in the summer window, not least recruiting an elite goalscorer and a comfortable distributor between the sticks. Talks have been held over Andre Onana, although the search for a new No 9, proven at the top level, is the priority.
Mount isn’t that goalscorer — he certainly isn’t that goalkeeper — but he is a lot of things in between.
Now, pending the results of Monday’s medical, Ten Hag will rejoice in securing his man.
GO DEEPER
Man United agree Mount deal: How did we get here? Why is it happening now?
(Photo in top image: Ryan Pierse / Getty Images. Designed by Sam Richardson)