Last week, Manchester United completed the signing of Mason Mount (£7.0m) from Chelsea for an initial £55m.
After this protracted transfer saga, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers will immediately wonder where exactly Mount fits into Erik ten Hag’s midfield plans.
The England international could be asked to sit deeper in the Christian Eriksen (£6.0m) role or push higher up, potentially affecting the potential of Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m).
So what does this move mean in FPL terms?
We’ll take a look in this Moving Target piece, where we have included data and images from our Premium Members Area.
MOUNT’S FPL HISTORY
In the summer of 2019, Chelsea not only sold star playmaker Eden Hazard to Real Madrid but weren’t able to sign a replacement due to a transfer embargo.
Newly-appointed head coach Frank Lampard was a different approach to their usual elite names and soon suggested that the answer was already on the payroll – 20-year-old Mount, whom he’d just worked with at Derby County.
A Portsmouth fan signed up to Chelsea’s academy since 2005, nine goals had arrived during a loan period at Vitesse and secured him a place in Eredivisie’s Team of the Year. Another nine were scored at Derby, suggesting a readiness for Premier League football.
| Season | Club | Division | Starts (sub apps) | Minutes | Goals | Assists | FPL points |
| 2022/23 | Chelsea | Premier League | 20 (4) | 1,655 | 3 | 4 | 82 |
| 2021/22 | Chelsea | Premier League | 27 (5) | 2,364 | 11 | 11 | 169 |
| 2020/21 | Chelsea | Premier League | 32 (4) | 2,893 | 6 | 7 | 147 |
| 2019/20 | Chelsea | Premier League | 32 (5) | 2,874 | 7 | 6 | 137 |
Mount soon became Chelsea’s homegrown poster boy, bagging 13 attacking FPL returns in both 2019/20 and 2020/21. The second season ended with Champions League glory, with Mount assisting Kai Havertz‘s (£7.5m) winner in the final.
His most productive year was in the following campaign. One of seven FPL players to reach double-digits for both goals and assists, he peaked at 2.6 million ownership and bagged a hat-trick in Gameweek 9 against Norwich City. An assist was also chalked up in this 7-0 thrashing, resulting in 24 points. Later, during Gameweek 32, it was a 19-point haul at Southampton.
That’s what made 2022/23 so disappointing for the man voted Player of the Season twice in a row. His worst campaign so far concluded with a measly 82 points. Pelvic injuries interfered with the final few months but he only exceeded five points on three occasions, as Chelsea finished in lowly 12th place. From an FPL perspective, Mount was a non-factor.
MOUNT’S PLAYING STYLE
Looking at the below heatmaps of passes received, this poor year coincided with being asked to operate from the left mostly.
Whereas the previous two campaigns saw Mount contribute heavily from all areas. In 2020/21, he had the fourth-most long shots (46) amongst midfielders yet 22 others scored more than his one.
| Goals inside box | Touches inside box | Shots inside box | Shots outside box | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 33.3% | 62 | 57.6% | 42.4% |
| 2021/22 | 81.8% | 145 | 63.2% | 36.8% |
| 2020/21 | 83.3% | 140 | 43.9% | 56.1% |
So he was utilised better in 2021/22 – his best season – and it included more touches in the box (145) than usual and a tally of 48 penalty area shots that ranked eighth in his position.
Nevertheless, although his technique is decent, Mount is most loved by coaches for his work off the ball. Journalist Carl Anka calls him “a professional pest” for the way he harasses opponents.
“He knows the game, he is a very intelligent player. He can score goals. He’s one of the most perfect 10s I’ve seen. He was our frontline, our maestro, he set the tone, good with both feet. Then he could see a pass, which is important, and he would go beyond the front man.
“He is great at nicking the ball, which will suit ten Hag. He is not a tackler, he nicks the ball off people, he’s clever.” – Eric Steele, former Man United coach who worked with Mount for England Under-19s
This helps ten Hag, as a tired Eriksen often struggled to finish matches. Now he can adjust his tactics to incorporate a more active midfielder who gets inside the box.
WHERE MOUNT FITS IN AT MAN UTD
Considering Fernandes ranks fourth, first and first for long-range shots during each of the last three seasons, ten Hag could therefore have Fernandes causing mayhem from distance whilst Mount replicates 21/22 by progressing further.
Instead of a 4-2-3-1 where Casemiro (£5.5m) and Eriksen sit behind Fernandes, it could instead be a 4-3-3 with two advanced ‘number eight’ players. As Fernandes naturally tends to lean left, Mount can operate in the right-sided half-spaces.
Furthermore, his versatility could occasionally result in going out wide while Marcus Rashford (£9.0m) moves upfront.
“I’ve always seen myself as a midfielder, a number eight that can obviously get forward, attack, try and score goals, create goals, but also be able to do the other side as well and defend and help the team when we’re under pressure.” – Mason Mount, speaking to the Man United website
Admired by ten Hag since his Vitesse spell, the 53-year-old then unsuccessfully tried to bring Mount to Ajax. This gives hope there’s a genuine plan on how to best use him, something he’s had in mind for years.
One thing that could affect Fernandes’ FPL appeal is Mount’s superb history of set-piece assists, though duties were already being shared with Eriksen and Luke Shaw (£5.5m).
MOUNT’S FPL PROSPECTS
Despite dropping to a £7.0m starting price, managers will likely overlook Mount at first due to the prolific Rashford and irresistibly cheap Fernandes. He’s only the third-best midfield option at his own club, never mind the 19 others.
However, some may want to double up on Man Utd’s early fixture run, which sits third on our Season Ticker until Gameweek 9.
And that could see Mount selected for his promising price point. Should Raheem Sterling (£7.0m), Dejan Kulusevski (£7.0m) or Jarrod Bowen (£7.0m) become must-haves, there’s an easy sideways move. It’s the same for Bryan Mbeumo (£6.5m) or one of the Brighton and Hove Albion midfielders.
Although there’s the chance of rotation and a reduced set-piece appeal, Mount’s 11 goals and 11 assists of 21/22 weren’t long ago. As for Fernandes, the indication is that he’ll remain advanced, it’s just there’ll now be a sidekick and another body to create big chances for.
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