Mason Mount | Confirmed

[OrcaFat]

The cynic in me suspects we want Mount so that Rice will want to come here.

I don’t disagree that he is versatile but I don’t see a position where he improves the first XI. Can anyone suggest how he could put serious pressure on anyone to get into the team?

Could he be developed into a no8, in the Eriksen role? I doubt it but I’m interested to hear opinions on this.

 

[cpresc]

This is how I am seeing it. I believe that a mass exodus is on the cards with the likes of Maguire, Heaton, Greenwood, McT, VDB and Fred shown the door. That's a problem in terms of homegrown quotas. Now we've seen that a DM is needed as Casemiro won't be lasting long if he has to play 2-3 games a week. Thus why we'll probably want Rice. Mount will be cover/competitor for Rice and Bruno. We might see this midfield against easy clubs

-------Mount/Eriksen---------Rice/Casemiro

Antony-------------------Bruno---------------------Rashy

------------------------------STK--------------------------------

this midfield against tougher sides

-------------Rice------------------Casemiro

Antony-----------------Bruno-------------------------Rashy

------------------------------STK------------------------------------

this against the toughest sides

----------Rice---------------------Casemiro

Bruno------------Mount--------------Rashy

------------------------STK---------------------------

yeah I agree with this, nicely laid out too haha

 

[sullydnl]

The cynic in me suspects we want Mount so that Rice will want to come here.

I don’t disagree that he is versatile but I don’t see a position where he improves the first XI. Can anyone suggest how he could put serious pressure on anyone to get into the team?

Could he be developed into a no8, in the Eriksen role? I doubt it but I’m interested to hear opinions on this.

Eriksen is indeed the obvious spot. Mount has played as a #8 before at Chelsea, probably most comparably in a 4-3-3 with Kante and Kovacic. And that's what he considers his own best position to be.

And there is (imo) an overlap in profile with Eriksen. As with Mount, a lot of posters here thought Eriksen would be used as a 10, would be a rotation option, would see Bruno shift position, would be too lightweight for ETH to use him alongside Casemiro etc. But for ETH he's been our first choice #8 when fit.

Plus The Athletic's reporting on our interest referenced it in terms of our interest in a #8.

Personally though I would hope we would look for a different profile of player in that position.

 

[Bebestation]

The cynic in me suspects we want Mount so that Rice will want to come here.

I don’t disagree that he is versatile but I don’t see a position where he improves the first XI. Can anyone suggest how he could put serious pressure on anyone to get into the team?

Could he be developed into a no8, in the Eriksen role? I doubt it but I’m interested to hear opinions on this.

Casemiro & Rice are in the top 5 CDM of the world, if not in the top 3.

Let them protect and set two number 8’s on creation.

Rice/Casemiro

Bruno/Eriksen - Mount/Eriksen​

Bruno, Eriksen & Mount are number 10’s that play deeper as number 8’s.

Ten Hag also plays Rice & Casemiro together in a double pivot at hard games which will be hard to beat.

Also Ten Hag can play players like Bruno or Mount out wide to create from wider angles for a striker like Kane.

 

[OrcaFat]

Casemiro & Rice are in the top 5 CDM of the world, if not in the top 3.

Let them protect and set two number 8’s on creation.

Rice/Casemiro

Bruno/Eriksen - Mount/Eriksen​

Bruno, Eriksen & Mount are number 10’s that play deeper as number 8’s.

Ten Hag also plays Rice & Casemiro together in a double pivot at hard games which will be hard to beat.

Also Ten Hag can play players like Bruno or Mount out wide to create from wider angles for a striker like Kane.

I would still like to get Rice to play with Case some of the time and instead of him when suspended or rested.

I can see Mount has a good level of fundamental quality that would be useful in a squad player, like Sabitzer (in a general sense). But is it possible that his greater value would be in making Utd a more attractive option for Rice? Does that sound like a crackpot conspiracy theory?

 

[OrcaFat]

Eriksen is indeed the obvious spot. Mount has played as a #8 before at Chelsea, probably most comparably in a 4-3-3 with Kante and Kovacic. And that's what he considers his own best position to be.

And there is (imo) an overlap in profile with Eriksen. As with Mount, a lot of posters here thought Eriksen would be used as a 10, would be a rotation option, would see Bruno shift position, would be too lightweight for ETH to use him alongside Casemiro etc. But for ETH he's been our first choice #8 when fit.

Plus The Athletic's reporting on our interest referenced it in terms of our interest in a #8.

Personally though I would hope we would look for a different profile of player in that position.

I like Hannibal for no8. He’s not quite ready but, to me, he’s the right profile: great close control, press resistant, creative, great carrying the ball through midfield, aggressive. Mount seems more “tidy and intelligent” which might be useful in some games.

 

[iato89]

some people here are highly disregarding rice and mount, espeically rice (easily a top 5 cdm atm). Mount versatility and quality is way above McT and fred ! If we manage to get both we can have a potential midfield of: casemiro, rice, bruno, mount, eriksen and maybe fred. We would have a truely solid midfield that can compete with anyone!

 

[AneRu]

This is how I am seeing it. I believe that a mass exodus is on the cards with the likes of Maguire, Heaton, Greenwood, McT, VDB and Fred shown the door. That's a problem in terms of homegrown quotas. Now we've seen that a DM is needed as Casemiro won't be lasting long if he has to play 2-3 games a week. Thus why we'll probably want Rice. Mount will be cover/competitor for Rice and Bruno. We might see this midfield against easy clubs

-------Mount/Eriksen---------Rice/Casemiro

Antony-------------------Bruno---------------------Rashy

------------------------------STK--------------------------------

this midfield against tougher sides

-------------Rice------------------Casemiro

Antony-----------------Bruno-------------------------Rashy

------------------------------STK------------------------------------

this against the toughest sides

----------Rice---------------------Casemiro

Bruno------------Mount--------------Rashy

------------------------STK---------------------------

Big problem is that it would be ridiculously wasteful to spend the +100m West Ham will quote us on someone to come in and fulfill what is essentially a squad role, it makes no sense. I think a young DM to groom for the role, content to play as Casemiro's alternate when he needs a rest or is out would be better. If we ign Rice then it would be to play him alongside Casemiro which would leave us a bit light in terms of creativity.

The Mount pursuit is confusing to me, he is best as an advanced 8 or a 10 meaning that partnering him with Casemiro and Bruno will leave us open to being overrun in midfield. He is not a high volume passer that you can build into a metronome and Bruno is better than him as a creator and passer. Maybe with training and a change of mindset he could be groomed into that build up 8 but why spend 55m on a project player?

 

[Lash]

I dunno if it was pointed out or not but i'm gonna point out that the way that graphic was compiled makes it completely worthless

It's like the author doesn't have the faintest idea how the sport works

, too be honest, I didn't look too close at it. Was more just a representation of what you can do if you have data. But now you mention it - you're dead right.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

Eriksen is indeed the obvious spot. Mount has played as a #8 before at Chelsea, probably most comparably in a 4-3-3 with Kante and Kovacic. And that's what he considers his own best position to be.

And there is (imo) an overlap in profile with Eriksen. As with Mount, a lot of posters here thought Eriksen would be used as a 10, would be a rotation option, would see Bruno shift position, would be too lightweight for ETH to use him alongside Casemiro etc. But for ETH he's been our first choice #8 when fit.

Plus The Athletic's reporting on our interest referenced it in terms of our interest in a #8.

Personally though I would hope we would look for a different profile of player in that position.

if we did buy him. (I'd rather we don't) I'd rather Bruno is dropped deeper to 8. I don't believe Mount has the ability to run a game from deeper like an Eriksen. Whilst further upfield, he may not be everyone's cup of tea buy he was excellent consistently for Chelsea there. And for what he may luck on flair he'd get in goals, tactical noise and defensive work rate. And possibly even assists if we got better CFS

 

[AneRu]

Eriksen is indeed the obvious spot. Mount has played as a #8 before at Chelsea, probably most comparably in a 4-3-3 with Kante and Kovacic. And that's what he considers his own best position to be.

And there is (imo) an overlap in profile with Eriksen. As with Mount, a lot of posters here thought Eriksen would be used as a 10, would be a rotation option, would see Bruno shift position, would be too lightweight for ETH to use him alongside Casemiro etc. But for ETH he's been our first choice #8 when fit.

Plus The Athletic's reporting on our interest referenced it in terms of our interest in a #8.

Personally though I would hope we would look for a different profile of player in that position.

Same here, I would want someone with similar attributes to Gundogun though you will never find an exact replica but he is the perfect half of a double pivot with a nice balance in defensive, playmaking and goalsoring attributes. Maybe like what we did with Carrick, ETH hopes to transform a attacker with good technique into a deeper role.

I am a bit confused with this pursuit but I trust ETH.

 

[gajender]

Same here, I would want someone with similar attributes to Gundogun though you will never find an exact replica but he is the perfect half of a double pivot with a nice balance in defensive, playmaking and goalsoring attributes. Maybe like what we did with Carrick, ETH hopes to transform a attacker with good technique into a deeper role.

I am a bit confused with this pursuit but I trust ETH.

Mac Allister is the Obvious one but it seems he is Liverpool bound .

 

[RedRonaldo]

Casemiro & Rice are in the top 5 CDM of the world, if not in the top 3.

Let them protect and set two number 8’s on creation.

Rice/Casemiro

Bruno/Eriksen - Mount/Eriksen​

Bruno, Eriksen & Mount are number 10’s that play deeper as number 8’s.

Ten Hag also plays Rice & Casemiro together in a double pivot at hard games which will be hard to beat.

Also Ten Hag can play players like Bruno or Mount out wide to create from wider angles for a striker like Kane.

I like this, but I doubt we would spend 100m on Rice for backup or squad rotation role with Casemiro.

 

[croadyman]

Could this be an Owen Hargreaves-esque signing where a lot of fans (myself included) had doubts about how he would fit in and then he ended up being a crucial part of the midfield jigsaw puzzle?

Yeah maybe so,Howson wouldn't even bother doing a video about how he fits in. Just for that alone I would love for Mount to make him look a complete prat

 

[devilish]

Big problem is that it would be ridiculously wasteful to spend the +100m West Ham will quote us on someone to come in and fulfill what is essentially a squad role, it makes no sense. I think a young DM to groom for the role, content to play as Casemiro's alternate when he needs a rest or is out would be better. If we ign Rice then it would be to play him alongside Casemiro which would leave us a bit light in terms of creativity.

The Mount pursuit is confusing to me, he is best as an advanced 8 or a 10 meaning that partnering him with Casemiro and Bruno will leave us open to being overrun in midfield. He is not a high volume passer that you can build into a metronome and Bruno is better than him as a creator and passer. Maybe with training and a change of mindset he could be groomed into that build up 8 but why spend 55m on a project player?

Oh don't tell me about it. I had been complaining about how ridiculously overpriced British players are that some even called me an Anglophobe. However facts are facts and no one can go against them

a- we're probably going to experienced an exodus of homegrown talent. Heaton, Jones, Maguire, McT, Greenwood and possibly AWB and Sancho will/might leave. There's homegrown rules that needs to be respected.

b- The EPL is a fecking physical league to play in. Players had gone in and vanished into it. Just think of VDB for example who was a key player in ETH's midfield in Ajax and who did diddly squat in the EPL.

c- our midfield is old. McT is the youngest of them all and he's 26. That's a problem in normal circumstances but is quite an issue in a physical league, in a team that play high tempo and with players who need to put legs to compensate for the lack of brilliance that the likes of Carrick/Scholes had.

d- Players need rest. Many including myself had highlighted the issue on a 31 year old Casemiro. Legs are first to go after all. However there's another player that has been worked to death and that's Bruno. The guy has played more minutes that all of the players in Europe including goalkeepers. At age 28 he won't last long playing on that regime, we're seeing that already seeing fatigue in this very season and god knows how much need of rest the guy need

e- Yorke and Cole were not WC players especially at their time when the world was spoiled with top top strikers. I shudder at the thought of what a Vieri, a Batistuta or a Shearer would earn in terms of salary and I don't want to even consider adding Van Basten to the mix. What made the Calypso boys that great was two things. They fit into SAF's system like a glove and they liked one another. The treble side had that in bucket loads. We had players who liked one another and who knew each other strengths and weakness that everything seemed natural to them. Becks, Giggs, Gaz, Scholes, Keane, Irwin, Cole etc could pass the ball to one another with their eyes closed. ETH seems to want to recreate that. Martinez and Antony played for Ajax, Casemiro and Varane won everything at Real, Mount, Rice and Shaw are mates. These are sub groups of friends and who all share the same work ethic. It will probably keep players happy on the bench as well. Ole refused a better deal and first team football just to remain with United. Could Mount do the same if he signs for us?

Of course price is a huge issue. However a player's price is dictated by three things ie the buyer, the seller and the player. We would have made way more money from Beckham if he moved to Barcelona. Yet the guy made it obvious that he'll only move to Real and not even a well oiled Manchester United run by General Ferguson could change that. Would that happen with Mount if let's say United sign Rice? Would he go to Chelsea and tell them not to bother him with either a contract extension or a move unless that move comes from Manchester United? Cause in that case then we're the one holding all the cards.

 

[croadyman]

Oh don't tell me about it. I had been complaining about how ridiculously overpriced British players are that some even called me an Anglophobe. However facts are facts and no one can go against them

a- we're probably going to experienced an exodus of homegrown talent. Heaton, Jones, Maguire, McT, Greenwood and possibly AWB and Sancho will/might leave. There's homegrown rules that needs to be respected.

b- The EPL is a fecking physical league to play in. Players had gone in and vanished into it. Just think of VDB for example who was a key player in ETH's midfield in Ajax and who did diddly squat in the EPL.

c- our midfield is old. McT is the youngest of them all and he's 26. That's a problem in normal circumstances but is quite an issue in a physical league, in a team that play high tempo and with players who need to put legs to compensate for the lack of brilliance that the likes of Carrick/Scholes had.

d- Players need rest. Many including myself had highlighted the issue on a 31 year old Casemiro. Legs are first to go after all. However there's another player that has been worked to death and that's Bruno. The guy has played more minutes that all of the players in Europe including goalkeepers. At age 28 he won't last long playing on that regime, we're seeing that already seeing fatigue in this very season and god knows how much need of rest the guy need

e- Yorke and Cole were not WC players especially at their time when the world was spoiled with top top strikers. I shudder at the thought of what a Vieri, a Batistuta or a Shearer would earn in terms of salary and I don't want to even consider adding Van Basten to the mix. What made the Calypso boys that great was two things. They fit into SAF's system like a glove and they liked one another. The treble side had that in bucket loads. We had players who liked one another and who knew each other strengths and weakness that everything seemed natural to them. Becks, Giggs, Gaz, Scholes, Keane, Irwin, Cole etc could pass the ball to one another with their eyes closed. ETH seems to want to recreate that. Martinez and Antony played for Ajax, Casemiro and Varane won everything at Real, Mount, Rice and Shaw are mates. These are sub groups of friends and who all share the same work ethic. It will probably keep players happy on the bench as well. Ole refused a better deal and first team football just to remain with United. Could Mount do the same if he signs for us?

Of course price is a huge issue. However a player's price is dictated by three things ie the buyer, the seller and the player. We would have made way more money from Beckham if he moved to Barcelona. Yet the guy made it obvious that he'll only move to Real and not even a well oiled Manchester United run by General Ferguson could change that. Would that happen with Mount if let's say United sign Rice? Would he go to Chelsea and tell them not to bother him with either a contract extension or a move unless that move comes from Manchester United? Cause in that case then we're the one holding all the cards.

Be very interesting to see who is going to move first out of him and Rice,also will it have any effect on where the other decides to go

 

[OrcaFat]

I like this, but I doubt we would spend 100m on Rice for backup or squad rotation role with Casemiro.

Yeah, EtH just did a big “bit” about needing to have a recruitment strategy and spending money wisely. Signing Rice now would be a bit strange unless (for some unknown reason) we are letting Case go.

 

[devilish]

I like this, but I doubt we would spend 100m on Rice for backup or squad rotation role with Casemiro.

Nicky Butt was Roy Keane's cover. Do you know how many games he played during the treble season? 31 games. Do you know many games Paul Scholes played in the treble season? 31. Meanwhile Beckham played 34 games while Roy Keane, the captain, the immovable object in midfield played 35 games ie just 4 games more then Nicky Butt. There will be plenty of games to play next season and at age 31 Casemiro will need rest.

 

[croadyman]

Yeah, EtH just did a big “bit” about needing to have a recruitment strategy and spending money wisely. Signing Rice now would be a bit strange unless (for some unknown reason) we are letting Case go.

Not really because can partner each other in the big games and rotate them in the others

 

[RedRonaldo]

Nicky Butt was Roy Keane's cover. Do you know how many games he played during the treble season? 31 games. Do you know many games Paul Scholes played in the treble season? 31. Meanwhile Beckham played 34 games while Roy Keane, the captain, the immovable object in midfield played 35 games ie just 4 games more then Nicky Butt. There will be plenty of games to play next season and at age 31 Casemiro will need rest.

Butt would sometimes pair up with Keane or Scholes, as he is also box to box type of no.8.

But I just don't see Rice paring up with Casemiro so often as they are both very much a no.6. Will have to see how Ten Hag accommodate both of them at the same time if he really decided to pursue him.

 

[devilish]

Butt would sometimes pair up with Keane or Scholes, as he is also box to box type of no.8.

But I just don't see Rice paring up with Casemiro so often as they are both very much a no.6. Will have to see how Ten Hag accommodate both of them at the same time if he really decided to pursue him.

Casemiro had shown that he's got more to his locker then that of being a number 6. Meanwhile Rice is said to be heavily restricted by Moyes. I think that one of our biggest issues when playing against the top sides is that our midfield get easily overrun. That won't happen with those two playing.

 

[croadyman]

Casemiro had shown that he's got more to his locker then that of being a number 6. Meanwhile Rice is said to be heavily restricted by Moyes. I think that one of our biggest issues when playing against the top sides is that our midfield get easily overrun. That won't happen with those two playing.

Completely agree,so who do you think is a better partnership in the very big games out of Casa & Rice/Caicedo

 

[Devil You Know]

Butt would sometimes pair up with Keane or Scholes, as he is also box to box type of no.8.

But I just don't see Rice paring up with Casemiro so often as they are both very much a no.6. Will have to see how Ten Hag accommodate both of them at the same time if he really decided to pursue him.

Depends on the fullbacks, too.

Prime Liverpool had a workmanlike midfield and their main playmakers were at RB and LB. A midfield of Rice/Case would be okay if we pushed Shaw a bit higher and bought someone like Frimpong to do the same on the opposite side of the pitch.

 

[Sandikan]

Thought I was in the wrong thread the amount of people yabbering on about Rice.

Mount then. That's an odd link. Bang average player that surely only cuts it because he's at the club he came through at.
Lingard, Curtis Jones, another in that locker.

No chance in hell we bang 50m on him when we've got a striker to buy.
We need to learn from the Van Beek mistake and not buy an average player for a big wad in the position of arguably our best player.

 

[ScarleyUtd]

Depends on the fullbacks, too.

Prime Liverpool had a workmanlike midfield and their main playmakers were at RB and LB. A midfield of Rice/Case would be okay if we pushed Shaw a bit higher and bought someone like Frimpong to do the same on the opposite side of the pitch.

This is the thing isn't it, ETH is building a team here. A set of players who will work to the system/s he has in mind. People focusing on individual players is where we've gone wrong for years now.

 

[AneRu]

Nicky Butt was Roy Keane's cover. Do you know how many games he played during the treble season? 31 games. Do you know many games Paul Scholes played in the treble season? 31. Meanwhile Beckham played 34 games while Roy Keane, the captain, the immovable object in midfield played 35 games ie just 4 games more then Nicky Butt. There will be plenty of games to play next season and at age 31 Casemiro will need rest.

You could play 40 games a season but if you aren't the manager's default starter/go to guy when it counts then there is bound to be some bruised egos and restlessness. Imo we lost out on Rice when we signed Casemiro, unless of course we become moneybags like City post takeover it would be an inefficient use of resources to spend 100m on Rice with Case in place. We need a younger, project signing who is useful now but with a clear upside that can be worked on over a couple of seasons.

 

[devilish]

Completely agree,so who do you think is a better partnership in the very big games out of Casa & Rice/Caicedo

Caicedo seems to be the more progressive player. He's a better passer of the ball, he's got more through balls then Rice (on that stat, Caicedo is at par with Casemiro) and better crossing. Declan Rice seems to be better defensively. He's no 1 in the EPL in interceptions (62), something he had been improving as he grew older (he was 13th during 20-21, 6th during 21-22 and now he's first) as opposed to Caicedo whose 3rd. Rice is also 2nd in distance covered. Rice tackling (48%) is inferior to Caicedo (50%) and Casemiro (51%). Both Casemiro and Caicedo commit themselves into more tackles as well. That's not necessarily a good thing. As Maldini once said 'tackling is the consequence of a mistake'. Rice's high interception rate might suggest his lack of tackles and his 'inexperience' in them. West Ham play a more defensive football then Brighton and us. The fact that Rice cover so much inches of pitch and make so much interceptions is quite significant since he should be doing less (low defensive line, defending in numbers etc). Thus defensive wise we'll be far better with Rice-Casemiro in CM then Caicedo-Casemiro especially since the Brazilian is already 31. Legs are the first to go.

Can that midfield work though? Casemiro produced 3 assists this year. He's no De Bruyne but he's just 1 assist less then the likes of Gundogan and at par to the likes of McGinn and Paqueta. In a more advanced role he'll probably go up to 5 assists which is less to Eriksen and Bruno (8 each) but would add far more steel in midfield.

Then there's something that go beyond football. Caicedo has just signed a juicy new contract with Brighton, they are set to sell Macallister and they will be playing in the Europa league next year. They don't need the money. Rice has a 1+1 year contract left and is playing with 14th place West Ham. He's more prone to leaving then Caicedo is.

 

[devilish]

You could play 40 games a season but if you aren't the manager's default starter/go to guy when it counts then there is bound to be some bruised egos and restlessness. Imo we lost out on Rice when we signed Casemiro, unless of course we become moneybags like City post takeover it would be an inefficient use of resources to spend 100m on Rice with Case in place. We need a younger, project signing who is useful now but with a clear upside that can be worked on over a couple of seasons.

We don't know how ETH tackles a turnover simply because he hasn't got the players to do it. All I can say is

a- Rice and Mount can play multiple roles (DM, MC the former, MC, AMC the latter)
b- a player is less likely to complain when he's surrounded by mates
c- Casemiro won't last forever and he already need a good cover/competition
d- Rice is 24. He's hardly ancient.

 

[surf]

Could this be an Owen Hargreaves-esque signing where a lot of fans (myself included) had doubts about how he would fit in and then he ended up being a crucial part of the midfield jigsaw puzzle?

Erm ... Hargreaves was on the books for 4 years, made 39 appearances of which 34 were in the first season, scored 2 goals. Not all that crucial beyond playing in a few big games in 2008.

Would want Mount to have more impact than that and I think he would.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

The cynic in me suspects we want Mount so that Rice will want to come here.

I don’t disagree that he is versatile but I don’t see a position where he improves the first XI. Can anyone suggest how he could put serious pressure on anyone to get into the team?

Could he be developed into a no8, in the Eriksen role? I doubt it but I’m interested to hear opinions on this.

Signing Mount means we might see a different system next season because ETH and the scouting team couldn’t find the right player that fits FDJ profile. Instead of playing with 4231 double pivot, ETH might play 433 with one no 6 and two no 8. We see this changing formation in his Ajax team when FDJ left.

The following below is when Ajax had the possession and start their build up play vs Dortmund in 2021/2022 season. You can see that Gravenberch is nowhere near in Ajax build up play phase to progress the ball. It‘s the keeper, two CB, a DM, and the two full backs the ones who got involved in this and if ETH uses this same system then we will rely on those 6 positions to retain possession or recycle the ball. Among these 6 players, Alvarez is the one being assigned to play more simple passes and doesn’t get involved on the ball often (see below stats), this suitable to Casemiro who is not a press resistance so I think we will see a different role in Casemiro next season in comparison to this season.

I think our build up and attacking transition will be something like this:

GK
Varane Martinez
Casemiro
RB —————— Shaw
Antony - Mount - Bruno - Rashford
ST​

Bruno and Mount will play in Berghuis and Gravenberch role. Our full backs will cover the half space and sometime swap position with the wingers. So this is where I see Mount might be perfect to play in this set up and system because we will get to utilise his strength to do high press, scoring goals and assists.

I took pictures of these FBref end of last season so this is based on 21/22 season.

 

[Irrational.]

Erm ... Hargreaves was on the books for 4 years, made 39 appearances of which 34 were in the first season, scored 2 goals. Not all that crucial beyond playing in a few big games in 2008.

Would want Mount to have more impact than that and I think he would.

I'd argue Hargreaves was instrumental in our CL win so was worth it for that alone. He completed our midfield that season. Agreed if he can have a similar impact over several seasons then would be a worthwhile signing.

 

[Lash]

I'd argue Hargreaves was instrumental in our CL win so was worth it for that alone. He completed our midfield that season. Agreed if he can have a similar impact over several seasons then would be a worthwhile signing.

I seem to only remember the Fulham free kick and the CL final, but agreed, worth it for those games alone.

 

[DevilRed]

Could this be an Owen Hargreaves-esque signing where a lot of fans (myself included) had doubts about how he would fit in and then he ended up being a crucial part of the midfield jigsaw puzzle?

Possibly! But I don't see that as a bad thing since Owen was really good for us until his injuries ruined the rest of his career.

 

[OrcaFat]

Signing Mount means we might see a different system next season because ETH and the scouting team couldn’t find the right player that fits FDJ profile. Instead of playing with 4231 double pivot, ETH might play 433 with one no 6 and two no 8. We see this changing formation in his Ajax team when FDJ left.

The following below is when Ajax had the possession and start their build up play vs Dortmund in 2021/2022 season. You can see that Gravenberch is nowhere near in Ajax build up play phase to progress the ball. It‘s the keeper, two CB, a DM, and the two full backs the ones who got involved in this and if ETH uses this same system then we will rely on those 6 positions to retain possession or recycle the ball. Among these 6 players, Alvarez is the one being assigned to play more simple passes and doesn’t get involved on the ball often (see below stats), this suitable to Casemiro who is not a press resistance so I think we will see a different role in Casemiro next season in comparison to this season.

I think our build up and attacking transition will be something like this:

GK
Varane Martinez
Casemiro
RB —————— Shaw
Antony - Mount - Bruno - Rashford
ST​

Bruno and Mount will play in Berghuis and Gravenberch role. Our full backs will cover the half space and sometime swap position with the wingers. So this is where I see Mount might be perfect to play in this set up and system because we will get to utilise his strength to do high press, scoring goals and assists.

I took pictures of these FBref end of last season so this is based on 21/22 season.

Great post!

 

[OrcaFat]

Not really because can partner each other in the big games and rotate them in the others

I agree that’s how he’d be used. That would be a bit strange though wouldn’t it? A huge fee on a player who would mostly be a rotation option.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Great post!

Thanks

 

[holdsteady]

I seem to only remember the Fulham free kick and the CL final, but agreed, worth it for those games alone.

He was fantastic in the 2nd half of the season

 

[Sandikan]

I agree that’s how he’d be used. That would be a bit strange though wouldn’t it? A huge fee on a player who would mostly be a rotation option.

It'd be the same mistake as with DVB.

 

[Sandikan]

Could this be an Owen Hargreaves-esque signing where a lot of fans (myself included) had doubts about how he would fit in and then he ended up being a crucial part of the midfield jigsaw puzzle?

Quick answer is no.

And there's not a chance we're banging 50m on the likes of him when we clearly have huge needs elsewhere and no sign we're suddenly going to be Qatari backed.

 

[RedRonaldo]

Depends on the fullbacks, too.

Prime Liverpool had a workmanlike midfield and their main playmakers were at RB and LB. A midfield of Rice/Case would be okay if we pushed Shaw a bit higher and bought someone like Frimpong to do the same on the opposite side of the pitch.

Double non playmaking/ball-playing DM might work well for some team under some specific system, but it doesn't seem its the way ETH would set up his team to play. We will have to see what ETH has on his mind next. But I doubt he would change his usual approach all of a sudden, I just feel playing double ball winning DM would be an overkill for his system.