It's now official Manchester United have completed their signing of Mason Mount for £60m with add-on included, making him one step closer to becoming their first signing of the summer.
How did we ever get into this situation? Mason Mount, a Chelsea academy graduate who has worn the armband for the club on occasions and looked destined to be a future Chelsea captain. Mason Mount, a player who had a banner at Stamford Bridge that said "the boy who had a dream." Mason Mount, a player that the fans of Chelsea adored and sung his name around Stamford Bridge. He was well and truly loved by the Chelsea faithful, and now he has joined Manchester United...
Mason Mount was out of form last season, and his performances dropped off significantly. But Chelsea's struggles were beyond him. Chelsea finished 12th, making it their first season since 1995-1996 that they've failed to finish in the top half of the table. It's obvious that the team's struggles can't simply be blamed on one player. When a side goes through four different managers in their first year under new ownership, it tells you that something isn't right at the club. Mason Mount isn't accountable for all these issues that have happened at Chelsea FC. However, his own performances have been less than satisfactory, and he, like so many other individuals at Chelsea last season, fell well below expectations.
It's easy to forget that Mason Mount entered last season's campaign off the back of back-to-back seasons as Chelsea's Player of the Year. The first saw him contribute massively to Chelsea winning their second Champions League. That assist to Kai Havertz in the final was a fantastic pass and was the cherry on top of the excellent season he had. This form continued into his second season, which saw the club win the Super Cup and the World Club Cup.
After these two Player of the Year seasons, it's fair to say that Mount should have been offered a new contract and made to commit his long-term future to Chelsea there and then. He was an important player who was integral to Chelsea's success. Instead, we are now in a situation where Mount has felt undervalued and underappreciated, seeing players such as Aubameyang come in and be paid £300k a week, while he's been on the same contract since 2019. Undervalued in that sense, most definitely. It also says a lot about the management and organization of Chelsea that they've allowed a situation like this to develop, with an academy graduate player departing to a rival club. Could you imagine if Chelsea's top six rivals let their young academy graduate players join rival clubs? Could you imagine if Foden departed City or Saka departed Arsenal? You could honestly put this on the same scale.
All in all, this move shows the state that Chelsea is in, and they can't afford for this situation to happen again. From the outside looking in, this is very grim and reminiscent of Ashley Cole's departure from Chelsea to Arsenal or Sol Campbell's departure from Spurs to Arsenal. Although the rivalry between Chelsea and United isn't as strong as those two, there's definitely animosity between the two clubs after all the famous battles they had in the mid to late 2000s.
For Manchester United, they are adding a homegrown midfielder who is proven in the Premier League and a proven winner to a team that finished 3rd last season and looks to get closer to their city rivals Manchester City, who just won a treble.
Mount will look to add creativity, and he has a real opportunity to rediscover his form at the biggest club in the country. He will also have the opportunity to play in the Champions League this season, something Chelsea doesn't have. Manchester United opening their summer by signing Mason Mount is a good start, as long as they continue to strengthen in other areas, predominantly in attack. It will be interesting to see what role Mount plays, as he's expected to partner Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro in midfield. He also has the versatility to play on the wing. If Mason Mount can get eight to ten league goals, that will be a massive addition to a United side that struggled for goals last season. During his time at Chelsea, Mount's best season saw him score 11 goals. What are your thoughts on Mason Mount becoming a Manchester United player?
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