Fabrizio Romano has provided an exclusive update on the Mason Mount to Manchester United transfer, as well as insight into Erik ten Hag’s crucial role in bringing the Chelsea midfielder to Old Trafford.
Writing in his CaughtOffside column, Romano made it clear that Ten Hag was key to helping Man Utd sign Mount, with the Dutch tactician clearly eager to work with the England international as he sees him as a perfect fit for his system and tactics.
It seems Mauricio Pochettino was also keen to keep Mount at Chelsea, according to Romano, though it seems the arrival of the Argentine as manager came too late to really influence the player’s decision, as his future may have been more or less decided a few months ago.
“Mason Mount’s transfer to Manchester United is almost complete, it’s just matter of time for the announcement,” Romano said.
? EXCLUSIVE ? @FabrizioRomano
?? Pochettino wanted to keep Mount at CFC but Ten Hag was CRUCIAL to bringing him to Man U ?
?? Meanwhile, Rasmus Hojlund remains on #MUFC's list but we await the next move as Atalanta want €60-70m ?
+ #theDebrief Podcast!
Full story ??
— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) July 4, 2023
“His medical was good from what I heard, so we wait for the club now. Erik ten Hag has been crucial to this deal, but overall I’d say this was the perfect feeling: Mount wanted United and Ten Hag wanted a player with that kind of desire, apart of his great skills of course. So, it’s a perfect match. Ten Hag is sure that he’s the perfect midfielder for his tactical idea.
“It’s also worth saying that Mauricio Pochettino wanted Mount to stay at Chelsea, but he wasn’t in an easy position – the problem is what happened way before: September, October, November… until February.”
All in all, this looks a huge blow for Chelsea as they lose a homegrown talent who’s mostly performed very well for the club, and they now risk him enjoying his peak years for one of their biggest rivals.
United will hope they get the Mount that looked like such a top performer before the dip in form he suffered last season, though in fairness he was far from the only CFC player to look well below what they’re usually capable of in what was a pretty dismal campaign for everyone at Stamford Bridge.