Mason Mount has struggled for minutes and form since moving to Manchester United and this summer saw the club sign three midfielders
Mason Mount's career at Man Utd is yet to take off despite spending three years at Old Trafford
Mason Mount's career at Man Utd is yet to take off despite spending three years at Old Trafford
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Mason Mount admits the influx of three new midfielders at Manchester United has ramped up the competition, which is a "must-have" with standards raising as a result.
The former Chelsea star, who moved to Old Trafford for an initial £55million three summers ago, has seen Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba all move to Manchester in a midfield spending spree that cost £155m.
Adding quality in the middle of the pitch was seen as a must for Michael Carrick and Tielemans and Santos have already begun making themselves at home. Baleba arrived from Brighton with an injury issue and is yet to make his debut.
Mount is yet to make his first appearance of the season and was an unused substitute during the 2-2 draw at Everton last time out. He could yet feature in Thursday night's Champions League clash vs Sabah but where he fits in the pecking order, and what his role might be, is still to be determined.
Despite that the 27-year-old is glad to see new additions being made by the club, insisting they were need if the squad and the players wanted to go up a level.
In the pre-match programme, he said: “Yeah, I think the additions within the squad really improve the squad, too. The competition for places is high, and I think that's a must-have, because it ups the level, ups everyone's level within the team. Game by game, you're competing during the week and training to get into the team and start the game, so everyone's got to be ready.
“That definitely improves the standard. You can see it already, the standard in training has gone up, so that will only improve the squad as a whole.”
Carlos Baleba was Man Utd's most expensive summer arrival
Carlos Baleba was Man Utd's most expensive summer arrival(Image: Manchester United via Getty Images)
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Mount's comments come despite an underwhelming three years at Old Trafford, which have been impacted by injures, a loss of form and a struggle to establish himself in a certain position. All that added up means he's made just 25 Premier League starts in three seasons. When he was a regular at Chelsea he would start more games than that in a single campaign .
He's scored just seven times for the Red Devils and, his recent decline, has seen him fall out of the England picture, where he was once a regular. During his peak Mount was effective centrally and out on the flanks, but at United the competition and recent recruitment drive has hampered him.
Bruno Fernandes remains the team's playmaker and the likes of Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha have been signed to offer a threat from out wide, although both have also played through the middle. Dropping deeper would see Mount compete with United's three summer signings and Kobbie Mainoo.
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