Having praised Mason Mount at just about every available opportunity in the first few months of his Manchester United tenure, Ruben Amorim must be feeling tempted to start him against Manchester City on Sunday.
After making his long-awaited return from injury against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Tuesday night, stepping off the bench to replace Joshua Zirkzee with 12 minutes to go, Mount will now be pushing for his first start since United’s last meeting with their neighbours.
December’s derby at the Etihad Stadium was not even 15 minutes old when Mount went down injured and had to be replaced by Kobbie Mainoo. Consoled by Amorim as he trudged off the pitch, Mount ended up being sidelined for three months.
But having made his long-awaited comeback at the City Ground, and so nearly marking the occasion with a goal, he will now be determined to force his way back into Amorim’s first-choice starting XI.
Mount’s experience of playing in a 3-4-2-1 formation under Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea a few years ago makes him an attractive option to Amorim. His system relies on players having a very specific skillset and he believes Mount is one of them.
Waxing lyrical about the 26-year-old after he appeared from the bench at Forest, Amorim said: “If you look at the history of Mason Mount, he played in this system many times, especially in Chelsea, he played left-hand, right-hand [side].
“So I think it’s a very good position for him.”
Mount’s United career has consistently stalled since he arrived from Chelsea in July 2023 because of injuries and he will be desperate to get into some sort of rhythm between now and the end of the season. He has been restricted to just 13 appearances this term and Amorim has only been able to name him in his starting XI on three occasions.
But having enthused that he “loves” Mount before even taking charge of his first game as United head coach back in November, it will be somewhat surprising if the 40-year-old overlooks him now he is back in contention after another spell on the sidelines
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