Mason Mount | Confirmed

[UnrelatedPsuedo]

Tbf to Casemiro, he has previously shown he has the capacity to at least be more secure in his passing than he has been this season.

It's a basic measure but below is his pass completion rate over the last six seasons, starting with the most recent:

77.4%, 85.2%, 82.8%, 83.2%, 87.2%, 87.7%.

It really depends on the team around him and the role he's being asked to play.

Fans get far too caught up in statistics. If Casemiro was asked to have a pass completion rate of 90%, he’d have it.

Coaches tell players what passes they should be taking on. Casemiro is clearly asked to, and trusted to, play lower percentage passes as part of our system.

There really aren’t loads of progressive passers that are up around 90%. It’s not like Casemiro is sloppy. His incomplete passes are generally more ambitious. It’s not like he’s wasting possession by conceding loads of misplaced 10 yard sideway passes.

 

[tombombadil]

Kinda shocked people are complaining about Casemiro's passing.

 

[luke511]

It's selectively picking the creativity stats. Yes a quality midfielder, I'm not disputing that. He's a DM though. I've long since said he's good enough for a big team. But partnering Casemiro with someone like Rice is a ridiculously negative setup and not something that Ten Hag will want to do. He doesn't roam up, move between the lines to receive passes from deep. He is the one from deep who breaks that first line. He progresses it from that first midfield phase into the opposing half, but then stays to hold the space. That's a vital position. We happen to have the best in the world arguably in that position. We needed that for a decade, but we finally addressed it. Now what we need is the more advanced partner to that, and for that player, they naturally need to be more forward thinking.

I'm not saying Mount is perfect for the role, but he's a very good player and just suits that need more. The perfect guy isn't available for us.

The problem is we also need DM cover, do you foresee us buying a back up DM too if we get Mount? Rice or Caicedo is a two birds with one stone situation. Casemiro is also a very all rounded player along with Rice, having them two as our midfield base is not as inhibiting as it's being made out. They could easily interchange roles, providing goals, assists and creativity like Casemiro has been doing already this season.

 

[tombombadil]

Replacing Casemiro is the lower priority. I would think replacing Eriksen is the urgent one that needs to be done this year. Casemiro replacement can be done next year. We still need a CB and striker this year as well. Priorities

 

[bosnian_red]

The problem is we also need DM cover, do you foresee us buying a back up DM too if we get Mount? Rice or Caicedo is a two birds with one stone situation. Casemiro is also a very all rounded player along with Rice, having them two as our midfield base is not as inhibiting as it's being made out. They could easily interchange roles, providing goals, assists and creativity like Casemiro has been doing already this season.

I just think we get Rabiot who can do 6/8 and mount can do 8/10.

Even ignoring fit suitability of Rice, the price is so prohibitive that it's a non starter.

 

[Crimson King]

The problem is we also need DM cover, do you foresee us buying a back up DM too if we get Mount? Rice or Caicedo is a two birds with one stone situation. Casemiro is also a very all rounded player along with Rice, having them two as our midfield base is not as inhibiting as it's being made out. They could easily interchange roles, providing goals, assists and creativity like Casemiro has been doing already this season.

They'd probably both cost double what the club are looking to sign Mount for.

Sure, DM cover is needed, but not for £100m. You'd be looking to sign Casemiro's long term replacement, for more than he cost, and then ignore what the midfield needs more urgently right now.

Caicedo is a better fit to that hybrid role than Rice, probably. I think Brighton will look for close to whatever West Ham get for Rice though, which will probably be prohibitive.

Things can change so we'll have to wait and see how it goes. Mount and Rabiot seems to be the most concrete links at the moment though, so people are naturally focussing on how that might work, rather than hypothetical, expensive alternatives.

 

[BenitoSTARR]

I seriously don't know how you can state the bolded part with such certainty. He certainly wasn't a comfortably better player than those players mentioned, he was hardly regarded as top prospect in Europe. He was just left footed right winger at Ajax. Tactically he might be the best choice for Ten Hag - I admit that. I find it hard to believe that ETH wanted Antony so bad for tactical reasons but it might be.

I think when you look at a combination of factors, pressure of United, first season in PL and relative impact to our side, Antony has taken ownership of the RW to the point where I don’t worry about having a balanced wide attack. Alone he won’t suddenly make us win the league but he absolutely raised the floor of our attack and I also believe has room to raise the ceiling of this teams ability overall.

He drives us forward more than an Olise could in my view. Olise is excellent at defensive wide play but isn’t the player to carry a side forward and sustain attacks which is what our wings have been lacking. All others mentioned just aren’t at his level in my view. There is a reason they are at mid to low level PL sides.

One of our biggest issues over the last few seasons was complete imbalance of attack. It was LW or bust. We lacked effective progression on our right side for years and now we have it. To the point where even AWB has started to understand the role and space he needs to occupy too. I think ETH having a Antony has helped fast track this as it’s one less player to worry about explaining the positional structure to.

I also did extensive looks into the market in the summer before signing him and as an avid Eredivise watcher was fully aware of the potential and talent Antony had shown not only in the league but also in Europe which often gets forgotten here.

Antony isn’t the best player in the world but I’d genuinely say that as left footed RWs go he has the potential to be one of the best in the coming years. His mentality, skill and ability to take on board instruction with a desire to improve makes him a valuable asset. One that we paid highly for as there was a dearth of available options that had his skill set. Something compounded for us by the Greenwood situation too.

 

[BenitoSTARR]

In fact @Borys genuine question. If you could replace Antony with any RW now in world football who would you replace with and feel confident it was a clear upgrade?

I think then I try to apply the same logic to Mount to see how I feel about the transfer and how much I trust our recruitment under Ten Hag.

 

[united_99]

If we sign Mount and Rabiot the dominating topics after most games will still be why is our passing so bad and why can’t we control games.

 

[hasanejaz88]

I always thought he was a good player for his age, especially the season they won the UCL, but it seems he really hasn't kicked on in the last couple of seasons.

Won't be overly excited if we sign him but also not disappointed because he's still a good player. Depends on the fee though (shouldn't be above 50m).

 

[MadMike]

I always thought he was a good player for his age, especially the season they won the UCL, but it seems he really hasn't kicked on in the last couple of seasons.

Really? He had an excellent season last year, his best from a personal performance viewpoint

 

[FCAES_7]

for 50M will Mount be a better option than Madisson, or are they a completely different type of players? Alway believed Mount is a good player and has room to grow but not to play in Eriksen position maybe a little more forward

 

[luke511]

I just think we get Rabiot who can do 6/8 and mount can do 8/10.

Even ignoring fit suitability of Rice, the price is so prohibitive that it's a non starter.

Rabiot hasn't played as a lone 6 since his early PSG days and even then the midfield 2 in front of them was mainly Verratti and Matuidi, completely different ball game expecting him to do the lone job with Mount and Bruno as attacking 8s against Premier League opposition. Also if our plan for him is to be a back up as an 8 for Mount and Bruno and back up for Casemiro as a lone 6, a position he doesn't want to play, I don't think he'll find the offer very appealing.

You're right about the price hence why I'd prefer us to get Caicedo, but the original point is that Rice can play 8, but can also cover Casemiro and replace him in the future, making him a great addition. He's not exclusively a CDM as stated in the original comment I quoted, he can play CM and CB too.

 

[WeePat]

I always thought he was a good player for his age, especially the season they won the UCL, but it seems he really hasn't kicked on in the last couple of seasons.

Won't be overly excited if we sign him but also not disappointed because he's still a good player. Depends on the fee though (shouldn't be above 50m).

The last couple of seasons? He was Chelsea's POTY for 2 straight years until this season. Statistically 21/22 was his best season with 29 goals (13) and assists (16). This season was the first underwhelming season of his entire career.

 

[luke511]

They'd probably both cost double what the club are looking to sign Mount for.

Sure, DM cover is needed, but not for £100m. You'd be looking to sign Casemiro's long term replacement, for more than he cost, and then ignore what the midfield needs more urgently right now.

Caicedo is a better fit to that hybrid role than Rice, probably. I think Brighton will look for close to whatever West Ham get for Rice though, which will probably be prohibitive.

Things can change so we'll have to wait and see how it goes. Mount and Rabiot seems to be the most concrete links at the moment though, so people are naturally focussing on how that might work, rather than hypothetical, expensive alternatives.

It's not ignoring what the midfield urgently needs. Rice and Caicedo can play as an 8 very similar to Fred's role, but also cover Casemiro and replacement him long time. Our performances dive without a player of Casemiro's quality at 6, we've dropped valuable points because of this. Our performances also drop without a player with Fred's engine next to Casemiro in the tough games, both players solve multiple needs.

 

[Catt]

Best to put this tread on ignore and just see if he pops up when the season kicks off

 

[Suv666]

The last couple of seasons? He was Chelsea's POTY for 2 straight years until this season. Statistically 21/22 was his best season with 29 goals (13) and assists (16). This season was the first underwhelming season of his entire career.

You must be intimately familiar with his strength and weaknesses do you reckon a midfield of Casemiro Mount and Bruno would work?

 

[thisISben]

So why is he likely leaving Chelsea? What’s happened?

He was a starter in what seemed like not too long ago.

 

[RedRonaldo]

So why is he likely leaving Chelsea? What’s happened?

He was a starter in what seemed like not too long ago.

No idea what happened to him in 2nd half of season at Chelsea. Upon checking his last full 90 mins of game played was back in January. Since then he has been playing more or less bit part role at Chelsea for occasional 15-20 mins sub appearance. He has played most of his minutes during first half of the season.

 

[GlasgowCeltic]

I wouldn't count Olise as an alternative at all. He's only scored 4 time in the league in 2 seasons for Palace. He got into double figures for assists this season, but he also takes a lot of their set pieces.

He would have been an even bigger punt than Antony, and I'm not really sure he has the attitude to make it at a top club. EtH wanted Antony because he knew him personally and knew he did have the personality to not be overwhelmed by the step up to Utd.

I think it's a real stretch to say that Antony is behind Olise on any sense. Even so, I'm quite confident Antony will have shown himself to be a much more valuable player to us than Olise would have been.

what's that based on?

 

[Powderfinger]

So why is he likely leaving Chelsea? What’s happened?

He was a starter in what seemed like not too long ago.

IMO, he has become a sacrificial lamb due to their spending.

They need to sell players for FFP and he is worth the most due to the price he can generate and because its all profit from an FFP perspective since he was an academy product.

Chelsea won't publicly say this for various reasons but its really the explanation that makes the most sense.

 

[GlasgowCeltic]

So why is he likely leaving Chelsea? What’s happened?

He was a starter in what seemed like not too long ago.

good age to make good money off selling him without weakening the team

 

[90 + 5min]

I wouldn't mind him at all. For £15-20m he would be excellent addition to our team. Better move then some other players that have been on peoples mind. Players with ludicrous, inflated valuation that no normal person would pay.

 

[UnitedSofa]

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[OrcaFat]

I am wondering if ETH wants Mount as an out and out no8. Direct competition for Eriksen and expected to get ahead of him as usual first choice by the end of the season.

Mount doesn’t really look like an 8 but in EtH system, possibly he can be developed in a short space of time.

If he is cheap and we can also get Rabiot, we’ll improve our midfield and we’ll have cash left over for a striker.

I don’t really rate Mount but if EtH does, I’m on board.

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

You must be intimately familiar with his strength and weaknesses do you reckon a midfield of Casemiro Mount and Bruno would work?

There's no reason why it shouldn't. He's a major upgrade on Eriksen in basically every department besides long passing from deep areas, both on and off the ball. Many in this thread keep talking about how he's best used in advance positions - don't really think this is true at all, he's always been best as an 8 and when Potter tried to use him as a winger for god-knows what reason he struggled.

I still would probably argue that from our midfield, Kovacic would be the better fit in a starting XI but you probably could do with some HG players, Mount brings something different to the table that you don't really have in terms of ball-carrying, and he's generally much more tactically flexible in his versatility.

I don't think Mount is good enough to be the best player in any team (and if he is, that team probably isn't going particularly far), but he's undoubtedly a valuable player who contributes to winning consistently.

No idea what happened to him in 2nd half of season at Chelsea. Upon checking his last full 90 mins of game played was back in January. Since then he has been playing more or less bit part role at Chelsea for occasional 15-20 mins sub appearance. He has played most of his minutes during first half of the season.

He's had some sort of bothersome hip injury that has limited him for basically the entire second half of the year. Not expected to be a long-term thing going forward though.

 

[thegregster]

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[El-Manos]

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He reliable ? Not sure how I feel about this potential signing.

 

[LawCharltonBest]

Telegraph: congratulations, you got the player

RedCafe: shit

 

[Solius]

Seems to be happening then.

Maybe watching him every week I’ll figure out why he’s so coveted. Currently don’t really understand it.

 

[New Balance Robbo]

Mount agreed personal terms according to ByJason Burt and James Ducker of The Telegraph just now

 

[HookedOnAPhelan]

Not his biggest fan, far from it, but I trust Ten Hag.

 

[cyberman]

Fully trust Ten Hag with this. He has good attacking numbers, good passer and has a defensive engine on him.
I’m not a fan but it’s Ten Hags vision for what he wants and I’m not on the same planet as he is to understand it

 

[FootyGirl88]

At least we’re getting our business done early I guess….

 

[Josep Dowling]

The big question is what’s the price tag? Anywhere above £50m and it’s a terrible buy.

 

[laughtersassassin]

I think it'll be decent signing to be honest but hope it's not the 50 million touted. A year left he shouldn't cost more than 30 or 35 max

 

[Rolaholic]

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Welp, at least we're doing business early.

Hope the final fee ends up in the 40-50m region at least rather than the 60-70m Chelsea have been aiming for

 

[nainaisson]

Not too long ago I was making fun of Liverpool for making him a top target. That'll teach me.

 

[RedSky]

Seems to be happening then.

Maybe watching him every week I’ll figure out why he’s so coveted. Currently don’t really understand it.

Same, I find watching him utterly tedious in an England shirt but perhaps that's the Southgate effect.

 

[Berbaclass]

I'm on board with the signing. I think he'll do well.