Incoming Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim makes Mason Mount central to his plans at Old Trafford, according to a report.
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has made Mason Mount central to his plans at Old Trafford, according to a report.
The former Sporting Lisbon manager officially arrived at Carrington on Monday to succeed Erik ten Hag, who was sacked in the wake of last month’s 2-1 defeat away to West Ham United.
As well as acting as Ten Hag’s permanent replacement, Amorim takes control of the reins from Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has left the club after a four-game unbeaten run as interim head coach.
Amorim has been unable to take charge of training as he awaits a work permit, but Man United reportedly expect the documentation to be sorted soon, and he is already drawing up plans for his Red Devils project.
The Portuguese achieved significant success at Sporting with a 3-4-3 system, and he is widely expected to employ such a shape in the Premier League, albeit with many uncertainties surrounding which players will fill which roles.
Mount to play a key role in Amorim ‘roadmap’
According to The Sun, Amorim has earmarked Mount as a player who could thrive in his system, and he has already made the former Chelsea star integral to his plans at the Theatre of Dreams.
Mount joined Man United in a £53.3m deal from boyhood club Chelsea in 2023, but the 25-year-old has endured a woeful start to life in Manchester with just one goal and one assist from 26 appearances.
Injuries restricted Mount to 20 appearances in all competitions in his debut campaign, and the playmaker’s fortunes have not improved this term, where he has only played six times so far.
The England international made his comeback from a head injury and a knock as a late substitute in last week’s 2-0 Europa League win over PAOK, before failing to make it off the bench in the weekend’s 3-0 Premier League victory over Leicester City.
The report claims that Amorim is a huge admirer of Mount’s versatility, and the ex-Blues youngster will play a crucial role in the Portuguese’s ‘roadmap’ after showing that he can thrive in a three-at-the-back system under Thomas Tuchel.
Where will Mount fit in under Amorim?
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Mount had already experienced a drop-off in his levels of performance during his final campaign at Chelsea under Graham Potter and Frank Lampard, but the Englishman was one of the stars of the team when Tuchel was at the helm.
After winning the Champions League in 2020-21, Mount hit double figures in both goals and assists during the 2021-22 Premier League season, registering 11 of his own and 10 assists in 32 games.
With Tuchel in charge, Mount would normally act as one of the two number 10s behind the central striker, often alongside Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz or Romelu Lukaku, and he would surely fill a similar position in Amorim’s system.
The Portuguese already has many a dilemma in the final third, though, as Bruno Fernandes will surely occupy one of those spots just off the striker, and he must also find a way to include the increasingly influential Alejandro Garnacho in the side.
First and foremost, Mount must get back to full fitness during the international break, but the early indications are that Amorim may have the best kind of selection quandaries at Old Trafford.
