Mason Mount could do something he didn’t expect at Manchester United

With Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes still absent after representing their nations at the European Championship, opportunity is knocking for the rest of Manchester United’s midfield.

Mainoo helped England reach the final of the showpiece event in Germany, with Fernandes and Portugal reaching the last eight. Both players, like other members of the squad who participated in a major tournament during the summer, are entitled to three weeks off.

As a result, none of them were on board the flight that left Manchester Airport for Los Angeles last Wednesday. It means manager Erik ten Hag is in the US without two-thirds of his strongest midfielder.

READ MORE: United aim to unveil plans for new 100,000-seater Old Trafford stadium

READ MORE: The decision to transfer Erik ten Hag suggests that United’s plans may have changed

Mainoo was the star of United’s teams last season, transforming from a first-team hope to one of the first names on the team sheet. His importance is now equal to that of Fernandes.

Operating with a three-man midfield, Mainoo and Fernandes fill two of the three roles, with only the defensive midfield needing attention before the transfer window closes next month. Casemiro regressed at an alarming rate last season and United want to sign a replacement.

Should they turn to that specialist in defensive midfield, the answer to that search will take the role of the final midfielder and complement Ten Hag’s strongest midfield alongside Mainoo and Fernandes. It means Mason Mount, Christian Eriksen and Scott McTominay will be left waiting in the wings.

After moving for Mount in last summer’s transfer window, United were expected to send him to the No. 8, with the England international swapping places with Eriksen, who had joined the club 12 months earlier. The mount was designed to provide fresh power and work between both boxes.

After a successful spell at Chelsea, Mount had developed a reputation as an attacking midfielder. However, he openly admitted after arriving at Old Trafford that he preferred to play deeper.

“I’ve always seen myself as a midfielder or a No. 8 who can obviously go forward, attack, try to score goals and create goals,” Mount said. “But I’m able to do the other side and defend and help the team when we’re under pressure.”

Mount was seen as an upgrade for Eriksen and Ten Hag hoped he would be able to fulfill a similar duty to the one the Dane did in 2022/23, admitting last August: “Christian Eriksen , last season, came in and did the same thing. For the first time in his life he played a deeper role and that was Christian’s ambition and then Mason’s ambition.”

As a result of his injury problems and Mainoo’s meteoric rise, Mount heads into this season behind the aforementioned youngster in the pecking order. Berth no. 8 is to lose for Mainoo.

With Eriksen and McTominay competing for the same role, Mount knows he will be in a battle to keep minutes under his belt in his preferred position. However, as already documented, he is no stranger to playing higher up the pitch in a more advanced role.

He started in a deeper role against Rosenborg in United’s friendly but was deployed as a No.10 against Rangers and Arsenal. He impressed in both friendlies, proving useful both with and without the ball, displaying all the hallmarks of a player eager to make up for lost time.

Of course, it would be silly to suggest Mount isn’t capable of operating as a number 10 for United, having played in that role so often for Chelsea, but it’s not the position he made the move to Old Trafford to play in; was signed to operate as No.8.

Mount will not head into the new season as a guaranteed starter in either role, meaning he has work to do to force his way into the Ten Hag’s first-choice XI. However, his recent performances at No.10 suggest he could be installed as Fernandes’ deputy.

His versatility in midfield is a quality that Ten Hag will certainly welcome and look to make the most of. He is a very useful operator and United will now be desperate to keep him fit.