Erik ten Hag first met Mason Mount when he was head coach of Ajax and to date, the two sides have had the opportunity to work together at Man United.
From the eighth game in charge of Ajax, coach Erik ten Hag paid special attention to Mason Mount and tried to borrow him from Chelsea. 14 goals and 10 assists in Mount’s first professional season has made Ten Hag super-heartwarming.
Until now, Ten Hag has had the service of the English player as the head coach of Manchester United. The 24-year-old left Chelsea, signing a contract worth £ 60 million with a term of five years at Old Trafford.
The Blues understand that this is the right time to sell Mount with only 1 year left on his contract. In contrast, Ten Hag got his favorite player in the rebuilding of Man United.
Where would Mason Mount fit in at Man United?
Based on the system Ten Hag implemented last season, Mount seems best suited to one of the two “no 8” positions usually taken by Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes, with Casemiro behind.
As shown under Thomas Tuchel, Mount can also play well on both wings in attack. In short, the English player has some similarities with Bruno Fernandes and will reduce the burden on the Portuguese midfielder.
In the “number 8” role, Mount is expected to contribute both in attack and defense, although he will move mostly in the opponent’s half.
Ten Hag prefers the rising “8” pattern to corner the opponent and this would work for Mount. The 24-year-old also has enough aggression to stretch the opponent’s defense in the last third of the field.
One of United ‘s finest goals of last season was Marcus Rashford’s effort to score in a 2-1 home win over Crystal Palace in February. And that moment underscored how Ten Hag wanted the “number eight”. His set up the offensive posture.
Looking at the image below, it is easy to see that right from the moment the goalkeeper holds the ball, Fernandes and Casemiro (highlighted) are positioned high up to stretch the distance between Crystal Palace’s attack and midfield.
In the next phase, two “8s” will rise to create a 5-man attack layer and overload the opponent’s defense. This deployment can be flexible based on the movement of the midfielders.
As the image below shows, both Casemiro and Fernandes are moving and looking for the ball.
In the final image, Fernandes drifts, while Casemiro goes inside the opponent’s penalty area. Mount, who used to play as a “number 10” and spread out on the wing, is capable of making crosses and causing mutations.
In this case, Aaron Wan-Bissaka chose to pass to Casemiro. The Brazilian then sent a pass inside to Alejandro Garnacho. Luke Shaw was the next to receive the ball and made a low cross for Rashford to score.
Although Fernandes did not directly affect the goal, his run allowed Antony to cross up on the right and vice versa, creating space for Garnacho.
Ten Hag now relies heavily on his “8” to launch attacks with or without the ball.
The Dutch strategist’s system seems to match Mount’s skill set very well. Due to the increasing demand for this position, Ten Hag needed depth to allow rotation between Eriksen, Fernandes and now Mount.
