Erik ten Hag is the man who pushed Man United to sign Mason Mount from Chelsea in July 2023. So convinced was the Dutchman of Mount's importance to the way he wanted to play that he still hasn't shaken the belief that the midfielder's unavailability during their time together at Old Trafford was one of the reasons Ten Hag eventually got the sack.
Mount was only able to start seven Premier League games in almost 15 months for Ten Hag. The now former United boss still thinks -- nearly a year on -- that things might have been different had he been fit more often.
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Though he's been back in the United XI in recent weeks, Mount's injury problems haven't disappeared entirely since Ruben Amorim's arrival. It's left the former Sporting CP boss in a similar situation to Ten Hag in trying to use the England international as much as possible, while simultaneously trying to reduce the risk of further spells on the sidelines. Even after scoring against Sunderland -- his first goal of the season and his first ever Premier League goal at Old Trafford -- Mount was substituted in the 66th minute.
It didn't matter that he was playing well. Rather, it had already been decided that he couldn't play for much longer than an hour.
"He did really well," said Amorim afterwards. "He had a number of minutes because we have to manage when a guy like Mason is returning from injury."
For Amorim, keeping Mount on the pitch for an extra half an hour wasn't worth it with a game against Liverpool at Anfield to come after the international break. It's a potentially tricky start to a four-game run that also includes fixtures against Brighton & Hove Albion, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur, a stretch that could go a long way to deciding whether Amorim is still in charge at Christmas.
Mount was one of the first United players Amorim met at the club's Carrington training ground when he arrived in Manchester to take over from Ten Hag in Nov. 2024. In the middle of another period of injury recovery, Mount was in the gym at the training ground while most of his teammates were either on holiday or international duty. It was the first glimpse of an attitude that Amorim has grown to love.
The Portuguese coach has tried to cleanse the dressing room of what he has viewed as negative influences. It resulted in the departures of both Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho. Mount, meanwhile, has been held up as an example of what he wants in his squad. The England star has attended team meetings even when injured in order to give himself the best chance of quickly slotting back into the team.
The 26-year-old is often the last player to leave Carrington because of the long ice baths and saunas he takes after training in an effort to stay fit. Rather than jetting off during the international break, he chose to spend the downtime with his family and on the golf course.
Mount has also taken it upon himself to help other players understand Amorim's system, having played in a similar tactical set-up under Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea.
"I think I have the experience of playing a similar formation to what he [Amorim] likes," he said after his goal against Sunderland. "I have played it before in the past. So, knowing the roles and what he wants out of the team resonates with me because I've done it before.
"I think at the beginning, especially, it was something that maybe [Amorim] could lean on me [for] because I know the positions."
As well as knowing the system, Mount offers Amorim something different. He was picked to start against Sunderland in place of �62.5 million summer signing Matheus Cunha.
It wasn't a straightforward decision. Despite United's problems so far this season, Cunha has been good, but he's a forward rather than a midfielder. For Mount, it's the other way around.
With both Cunha and fellow summer signing Bryan Mbeumo in the team, United have more of an attacking threat. Mount, though, knows how to press effectively, shut down space out of possession and help the two deeper midfielders -- usually Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro -- when United are being overrun. It's a vital ingredient for a system that is up against a three-man midfield most weeks in the Premier League.
"I think Mason Mount can give us more of a midfielder than a winger or a striker," said Amorim after beating Sunderland. "He can defend really well. He is really smart, he can attack really well. It is the characteristics we are going to change when we look at every opponent."
The "characteristics" Amorim felt he needed in a pressurized moment against Sunderland will also be needed at Anfield this weekend.
"I see myself as bringing a lot of energy into the team and setting off the press at times, being a bit of a catalyst going forward," said Mount, when asked about Amorim's assessment.
"That's always something that I focus on, helping the people around me and really bringing the energy."
Energy is one of the things Amorim has asked of his players, particularly at the beginning of games. Over the course of his 11-month reign, Amorim's team have conceded the first goal in 22 of his 34 Premier League matches, often leaving them in a hole before they've really started playing.
Amorim has made the point before -- privately to his squad and in news conferences -- that United doesn't deal well with setbacks. It means that the need to be on the front foot right away is even more important.
Mount will be asked to be a key part of that against Liverpool on Sunday just like he was against Sunderland, when he capitalized on United's first clear opportunity to score after just eight minutes. A big performance at Anfield would be another nod to Tuchel that Mount deserves an England recall in the months before the World Cup.
The pair had a long conversation after Mount impressed against Arsenal on the opening weekend of the season and the prospect of a place on the plane to North America next summer is still there. Tuchel knows all about his qualities after making him a central part of the Chelsea team, which won the UEFA Champions League in 2021.
It will be little consolation for Ten Hag, who never saw the best of Mount, but he's finally showing how important he can be for his United successor.
