“I love that kid,” said Ruben Amorim, early in his reign at Manchester United. There are no prizes for guessing it wasn’t an ode to Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho or Antony. Or, indeed, to Andre Onana, Kobbie Mainoo or Rasmus Hojlund.
But Amorim may be in good company. Thomas Tuchel loved Mason Mount, as did Frank Lampard. Gareth Southgate liked him. Erik ten Hag loved him enough to spend an initial £55m on him. Amorim loves him, too.
Mount can seem the footballing equivalent of a teacher’s pet. Not every fan has shared the various managers’ fondness for him, especially as injuries have turned a Champions League winner and Chelsea’s two-time player of the year into another indictment of United’s transfer business, but there are days that provide reminders of Mount’s quality.
Possibly United’s two best halves of the season, certainly as an attacking force, were the opening periods against Burnley and Sunderland. Mount was integral to both, even if the caveat is that the opponents were both Championship clubs last season. He scored against Sunderland, even if the damning detail is that it was a first Premier League goal at Old Trafford for a player in his third season with United.
But Mount had a rarity value in the squad Amorim inherited: he already had a track record of prospering in a 3-4-3 formation. He may have spent a few minutes at Brentford strangely masquerading as a left wing-back as Amorim refused to change shape, but he is a classic inside-forward; he fits the left-sided No 10 role he occupied on Saturday. “I think Mason Mount can give us more a midfielder than a winger or a striker,” said Amorim. “He can defend really well, he is really smart, he can attack really well.”
Mount’s status as a connector endears him to managers. So, too, his off-the-ball work. “I see myself as bringing a lot of energy into the team and setting off the press at times, being a bit of a catalyst going forward,” said the England international. “So that’s always something that I focus on, helping the people around me and really bringing the energy.”
If there is energy, there is also synergy with his manager. And yet, for the second time in his United career, confusion in their recruitment. Coincidentally or not, each has involved Matheus Cunha. Two years ago, on Mount’s United debut, Ten Hag’s tactical plan, of fielding his new recruit and Bruno Fernandes as high No 8s, was destroyed on day one as Cunha ran through an emptied midfield for Wolves.
Two years on, United spent £62.5m on the Brazilian, a left-sided No 10 who can score far more goals than Mount – 15 compared to one in the Premier League last season – but who lacks his defensive resolve. If Mount leads the press, there are times when Cunha doesn’t even join in. Mount can be the ultimate team player, Cunha more of a solo act.
Maybe Mount’s misfortune with injuries meant Amorim was banking on being without him; that he could not construct a team around a player he may have expected to be on the treatment table. But he bought a player who threatened to render him a serial substitute.
Instead, seven games into his United career, Cunha has no goals and no assists. He was one of those dropped after the disappointment of defeat to Brentford. His encouraging debut against Arsenal is a more distant memory.
Amorim made his first summer signing a player who operates in the position in a 3-4-3 shape that best suits Mount, and, while the Portuguese prefers to field his captain deeper in midfield, Fernandes also.
It was a decision with another significance. United activated Cunha’s £62.5m release clause, but Brentford used that price as a benchmark when selling Bryan Mbeumo. Then Benjamin Sesko became the most expensive attacker of the trio in a deal that could come to £73m.
At which point, it was logical to conclude that Amorim’s preferred front three would be the £200m triumvirate. That investment felt all the greater a statement, given United’s many other needs. Rewind to the end of last season, and there was a case for arguing that, if Amorim could make three big buys, they should be a forward, a central midfielder and a proven goalkeeper; others might have opted for a high-class wing-back.
Instead, the wing-back who did join was the rookie Diego Leon, the goalkeeper who eventually arrived was the relatively unknown Senne Lammens, who debuted on Saturday. Instead, Amorim overloaded on forwards and, while the evidence of other games could lend itself to different conclusions, United look a better side with Mount on the pitch.
Amorim talked of “different characteristics” for different matches. Another interpretation is that there will soon be a different manager for those games, probably one who is not as devoted to 3-4-3. Mount and Cunha are scarcely footballing doppelgangers; as Amorim suggested, the Englishman is more of a midfielder while the Brazilian is more of a forward. Yet in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation, they could again be competing for the same spot.
Two years after Cunha got Mount’s time at Old Trafford off to a false start, now there has been something of a role reversal. And in the process, he has posed a problem for the United manager, whether Amorim or a successor. Who, if history is any guide, may love Mount.
