Man Utd are set to play Everton in the Premier League on Monday and Mason Mount could return to the squad.
After Ruben Amorim’s sacking, Mason Mount was seen as the biggest ‘loser’ in Manchester United’s dressing room. Amorim did not hide his affection for Mount, saying that he “loved” the midfielder’s determination.
United were statistically a better team when Mount started in the first half of the campaign, which backed up the eye test. The 27-year-old scored goals against Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Wolves to finally build genuine momentum for the first time since his move to Manchester.
Unfortunately for Mount, he’s been unable to impress Michael Carrick as he did Amorim because he picked up a knock in training just as Carrick was getting his feet under the table at Carrington.
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Mount made a small cameo with an offside goal to his name in the Manchester derby victory, and was an unused substitute at the Emirates Stadium. He then picked up the training injury during the team’s preparation to face Fulham.
Earlier in the month, Carrick suggested Mount should be back in the squad to face Everton, but he did confirm the midfielder would return at the Hill Dickinson Stadium when he spoke on Friday.
Speaking at Carrington, Carrick explained: “Mason is getting closer, we have been patient with him. We don’t want to push anything. We want him back and fit. He is getting closer, which is good for us.”
Carrick did not outright commit to Mount returning to the squad in Merseyside, but it appears he has a strong chance of being available for selection again for the first time since Arsenal.
Mount will go from facing the challenge of regaining fitness to regaining a starting role, though. The change of formation poses questions about where he best fits into Carrick’s system.
The Portsmouth-born lad was perfectly suited to playing in one of the No.10 roles in Amoirm’s system, and perhaps his ideal position in Carrick’s shape would be the central attacking midfield role.
Bruno Fernandes has that position nailed down. You only need to look at Kobbie Mainoo, who was pitted against Fernandes by Amorim, meaning he did not make a start in the Premier League this season until Carrick was appointed, to see that Mount would face an impossible task to usurp the United captain.
The silver lining is that Mount is adaptable and versatile. He could play on either of the flanks or down the middle, where Bryan Mbeumo has played, so it’s certainly not all doom and gloom.
And Mount can take comfort from the fact that his position in the United squad looked weaker last summer when Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha were signed. He still found a way to force his way into the team and become a key player, which shows he’s got the mettle to rise to another challenge.
Mbeumo and Cunha were signed to be the first choice in the No.10 roles, but Mount backed himself. Speaking in pre-season, he reflected: “Any opportunity you get, you’ve got to try and take it. And, yeah, I mean, I’ll always back myself. I know what I can do. But we’re a team and we’re all working together in that.
“Obviously, with the new signings coming in, they (Cunha and Mbeumo) are going to elevate us to another level, and we all need to be at that level to really perform.”
Mount will need to show the kind of determination that endeared him to Amorim in the second half of the campaign. He has missed some time to impress Carrick, who could land the job permanently in the summer, but he’s got form for bouncing back from setbacks and proving people wrong.
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