Three ways Man United can line up with Mason Mount in 2023/24

Manchester United have completed the signing of midfielder Mason Mount on a five-year contract at Old Trafford.

The deal is worth £55 million plus an additional £5 million in “difficult” add-ons. These add-ons have been described to be strongly dependent on appearances and success.

Mount will come into a midfield that consists of top-quality players such as Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes. Whilst Fred, Donny van de Beek and Scott McTominay are in the background – although there are rumours that any of those players could exit the club.

So where will he fit? Mount has played in several different roles and positions at Stamford Bridge, which is a positive for Erik ten Hag, who likes to have players who can work flexibly in a system.

There are three main roles that the England international could operate in at Old Trafford.

1. Replacing Christian Eriksen

The main position that we can see Mount coming into is next to Casemiro in the midfield three – as a number eight.

That is the position that Eriksen currently occupies after he moved to United last summer. He has impressed during his time at the club so far, scoring twice and assisting 10 times throughout his debut campaign.

However, Mount would provide an upgrade on Eriksen in certain attributes, particularly through his pressing and defensive work, which is something that Eriksen lacks in quality.

2. Rotation with Bruno Fernandes

Secondly, Mount would be able to offer depth in the attacking midfielder role, which Bruno Fernandes has excellently handled since he joined the club in 2020. However, despite his incredible fitness levels, you would think that the Portuguese can not continue to play the same minutes per season if he wants to stay at the top level for as long as possible.

Further rotation for Bruno would be a positive for the group and player, which Mount could offer. Playing behind the striker has been Mount’s primary position in his career so far and he would be able to offer similar qualities to the United no.8 in the position, albeit to less effect.

3. On the right wing

We’ve also seen Ten Hag experiment with playing Bruno Fernandes from the right wing on occasion. Whilst this could have been down to a lack of depth on that side, there were also some benefits seen when the Portuguese moved there. His workrate defensively is strong and it also meant he could pop up in the right half-space often.

Mount would probably work even better than Bruno if he was to play this role. Similarly to the United midfielder, Mount likes playing in the half-spaces and is excellent on the half-turn. Meanwhile, his defensive work would also be a positive on the flank.

It’s a position he’s played for both Chelsea and England and although it’s unlikely to be a common theme, it’s certainly a role that he’s shown to be capable of performing in the past.