Ten Hag considers £55m flop 'hugely important' as Fabrizio Romano rules out major sale

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag and his team of coaches are doing all in their power to transform the fortunes of Mason Mount, with Fabrizio Romano making clear their plans for the player following reports his future at Old Trafford could be in some doubt.

Mount moved to Old Trafford in a £55m switch from Chelsea in summer 2023, having earned a reputation as an extremely hard-working midfielder with a strong eye for goal throughout his time at Stamford Bridge. But his time at Manchester United has not gone to plan, with Mount restricted to just 20 appearances across his debut season, with a series of niggling injuries all hampering his progress.

With Mount’s fitness issues preventing him from building up any momentum or form, it was no surprise when the 36-times capped England player was overlooked for this summer’s European Championships, having previously been considered one of Gareth Southgate’s go-to midfield stars.

Nonetheless, that allowed Mount to work on his fitness and get himself up to speed during pre-season and Ten Hag will have hoped the 25-year-old would be ready to show why United forked out such a hefty fee for him in the first place over the 2024/25 campaign.

Just two games into the new season, though, Mount picked up another injury – this time to his hamstring – in their 2-1 defeat to Brighton at the Amex.

However, despite speculation that the club are now regretting their decision to sign the player, Romano is adamant that is not the case and that Mount still very much has the trust of Ten Hag to get his career back on track and prove his worth to United.

“In his last press conference, Erik ten Hag wanted to back Mason Mount,” Romano told his YouTube channel.

“Erik ten Hag is really supporting Mason Mount. On a daily basis, Erik ten Hag is talking to the player, is trusting the player, he wants to give him some time to come back in the best way possible, not to have any injury problems anymore and to give him the opportunity to play on a regular basis, to be consistent and to be back at his level, at Mason Mount’s level.”

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Ten Hag backing Mount to become an important player for Man Utd

While the jury remains out on Ten Hag’s qualities to truly succeed at United and steer them back to the pinnacle of English and European football, the one thing that can be said of the Dutchman is that he remains extremely loyal to his players and wants those he has signed to succeed under his management.

Now according to Romano, Ten Hag continues to show his love and appreciation of Mount and is very much in the belief he can still become a very important player for the Red Devils.

“So especially Erik ten Hag is still pushing to give Mason Mount chances, to trust Mason Mount for the long term and to have Mason Mount as an important player for Manchester United,” Romano continued.

“They were very happy at Manchester United with the way he was working even in pre-season to prepare for the new season in the best way possible, but then unlucky with injuries again, but Erik ten Hag is still there and the staff are working to get him in the best conditions possible, this is a very, very clear mission.”

Man Utd battle Liverpool for left-back / Match of the Day pundit slams United

Elsewhere at Manchester United, the Red Devils are now reported to be facing very serious competition from Liverpool for the signing of Fulham left-back Antonee Robinson.

The USA international has put up some seriously impressive stats in recent seasons, bringing him onto the radar of some of the Premier League’s biggest sides.

But according to a report, it is Liverpool who have stolen a march on United with the cost of a January deal coming to light and with the Merseysiders looking to get in place another big succession plan at Anfield.

Meanwhile, United have also come in for some strong criticism from Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy, who feels their failure to properly address an alarming stat over the summer could come back to bite them hard throughout this season.

Mason Mount factfile shows big improvement is needed

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