November 26th 2023.
Mason Mount has been struggling to find his feet at Manchester United since his summer signing from Chelsea. He was given the No. 7 shirt, a mark of Erik ten Hag's faith in him, but has failed to impose himself on the attack, registering one assist and zero goals in 12 appearances.
Mount has been hindered by injuries, and is now facing another month on the sidelines with a calf injury. Ten Hag believes that the disruption in the team, as well as the injuries, have been the main problems affecting Mount's start to the season.
“You can look for reasons behind [that],” ten Hag said on Friday. “There are reasons when you pick up injuries. The back four is not working, we have to make a lot of subs in the back four that have an affect on the balance of the midfield. The front players we have to make a lot of changes, so then the routines are not there. Still, I think he has had his moments where he did very well. But I think that stopped in the moment he got injured.”
Ten Hag also praised Mount for being a "top professional" and working hard in training.
United remain without several key players, including Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia, Johnny Evans, Casemiro and Christian Eriksen. However, Luke Shaw is available once again, having been ruled out since the second game of the season in August. Ten Hag was extremely pleased to have him back, saying: “You can mention many things. You can mention his physicality, his technical ability, and his leadership, it’s clear. For a long time in the season, we didn’t have a left-back. We are very happy he’s back, it’s a good sign. He will help us be more stable, I am sure of that.”
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