Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Jason Wilcox
(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
Manchester United have been searching the market for a third new midfielder, but they might end up confirming Mason Mount in a new role.
At the end of last season, the Red Devils parted ways with Casemiro, who has since joined Inter Miami on a free transfer. Moreover, Michael Carrick won’t be able to rely on Manuel Ugarte for the bulk of the campaign due to an ACL tear he suffered in the World Cup.
Therefore, INEOS were forced to launch a midfield revamp, and they have already bought Andrey Santos on a £48 million transfer from Chelsea and triggered Youri Tielemans’ £35 million release clause.
Mason Mount could be the solution for Man Utd’s midfield dilemma
With Santos and Tielemans joining Carrick’s ranks, Man Utd now have three natural central midfielders in their first team, with the third being Kobbie Mainoo.
Therefore, most sources had expected United to buy one more player to shore up the department, even though Tyler Fletcher could be promoted to add further squad depth.
Over the past few weeks, MUFC have been linked with various profiles, especially Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni and Roma’s Manu Kone. However, no noticeable progress has been registered on any track.
On the contrary, Jason Wilcox and Co are seemingly fixated on luring Newcastle United’s young left-back Lewis Hall.
In the meantime, Carrick has been deploying an unusual double pivot in Santos and Mount. The duo have struck a swift understanding and have been producing promising displays in pre-season.
Therefore, The Athletic journalist Laurie Whitwell feels United could abort their plans to buy a third midfielder in favour of confirming Mount in a deeper role, while allocating a bigger budget for their left-back pursuit.
“I’ve been kind of asking questions around this, the more it’s come to the four that they’re still debating what the next target will be in terms of position and there’s no guarantee that there will be a 3rd midfielder perhaps with a view on how Mason Mount has been doing in preseason,” said Whitwell during his appearance on the Talk of the Devils podcast (via UtdExclusive).
“That is sort of you know I think part of the conversation at the moment where do United want to put their resources and you know LB, I think is still an area of prominence in that regard.”
Is recasting Mount a wise choice for Man United?
In the first three matches of pre-season, Mount has arguably been one of the club’s most impressive players.
The 27-year-old asserted his authority on the pitch in Saturday’s win over Atletico Madrid, controlling the game’s tempo and orchestrating the play.
In essence, Mount could be Mainoo’s most natural replacement in the current Man Utd squad, as he’s capable of performing similar tasks.
That being said, Man Utd could do with another new signing who brings in a different skill set, chiefly a physical box-to-box midfielder like Kone.
The Roma star combines remarkable physical attributes with decent technical skills, while his ability to cover space and drive the ball forward through brute force is an element the current United crop lacks.