Despite playing fewer than 50 games in his first two seasons with Man United, Mason Mount is optimistic of having a fulfilling third season.
Mbeumo and Cunha are United’s newest signings
Mason Mount has backed Manchester United signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo to lift the team to “another level”.
United invested £133.5million to sign Cunha from Wolves and Mbeumo from Brentford and sharpen an attack that has recorded a minus goal difference in the past two seasons.
Head coach Ruben Amorim has repeatedly said he “loves” Mount, who is well versed at playing in a 3-4-2-1 formation, having lined up as one of the two playmakers in the 2021 Champions League and European Championship finals.
Mount scored three goals in May after returning from a three-and-a-half-month lay-off with a groin problem but United have since brought in Cunha and Mbeumo, two prospective playmakers.
“Any time you do get that opportunity to be on the pitch, you want to do something,” Mount stressed. “You want to affect the game. That’s always the way I’ve looked at it.
“Any opportunity you get, you’ve got to try and take it. And, yeah, I mean, I’ll always back myself. I know what I can do. But we’re a team and we’re all working together in that. Obviously with the new signings coming in, they (Cunha and Mbeumo)’re going to elevate us to another level and we all need to be at that level to really perform.
“He (Amorim)’s definitely given that confidence to me from the first day he came in, speaking to me, and I know what he wants, and I feel like I know how he wants the team to play. And, obviously, I’ve had some experience in that role as well.
“So that helps with the younger lads coming in and me helping them understand the positions of the formation and everything. So yeah, it’s been brilliant and definitely having that confidence, the manager has that confidence in me to go out there and perform, it definitely helps as a player.”
Mount revealed United players are intensifying their pre-season training sessions by kicking each other more often. Amorim complained about a “lack of aggression” from the squad last season and Mount admitted there has been an edge to the pre-season sessions.
The 26-year-old conceded he got “far too many yellow cards for my liking” when he came on in games after recovering from injury for the run-in last season but he is encouraged by the way his teammates are applying themselves.
Mount played in Stockholm on Saturday
“The vibe around the group is very energetic,” Mount said. “In training, it’s been a few kicks here and there because we want to win in games. Little games here and there.
“That’s what you want as a group. You kick your mate, but after training it’s all good. He knows it was in the right mind frame.
“I think I’ve always had that (fouling) in me. It’s just when you’re at the end of last season, I was coming back. At the beginning I was obviously not starting games. I was watching games and when you have that opportunity to come into the game, you want to have an impact and you want to get straight into the action. You want to do something.
“Yeah, I got too many yellow cards and I had too many fouls. Sometimes they get you into the game and get you focused there and you’re ready to receive the next ball. And then, yeah, don’t get any more yellow cards after that. So, yeah, that’s the way I look at it.”
United have been training in Chicago
“It’s been brilliant. We’re all doing stuff together away from the training pitch, spending time with each other. That’s massive for a long season where you’re about to go in and fight against other teams. We’re in a really good place and there’s still time for us to work at things and everything like that. But we’re good and we’ll be ready for it.”
Mount started in the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at the expense of Alejandro Garnacho, who complained about his demotion after the loss in Bilbao. The result marked the sixth time that Mount has been on the losing side in a final with Chelsea, United and England.
He was unable to quickly move on from United’s crushing disappointment against Spurs, which confirmed they would not play any European football this season for the second time in 35 years. “I’ve had quite a few losses in finals, so it’s not easy. It never gets any easier, for sure,” he added. “But as I said already, it’s about looking at what we could have improved on.
Mount scored in the Europa League semi-final
“Any little thing that happens in the game, it’s like a bigger impact, especially in a final. I think obviously it was tight. We looked at why these things could have happened, but as I said before and many times, it’s about looking forward now and really using this pre-season to work on a lot of things that maybe we didn’t get enough time to last season.
“With the schedule, with the games, and obviously with the gaffer coming in halfway through, this period is so vital for us to be as a group and work on things.
“So, yes, this is important. Finals are never easy to take when you lose. But when you’re in that next one, you remember that feeling. It takes some time (to get over such a defeat), for sure. For sure. Because as a player, you’re just thinking about little things in the game.
Mount had a night to forget in Bilbao
“I started the game, so it was like, what could I have done in that situation? Or could I have made that pass better? I think you don’t look too much into it, because you would drive yourself crazy, looking into loads of detail.
“But it hurts and the whole season hurt. But this is, as I said before, a new slate now. We’re looking forward to performing. And that first game of the season is a great opportunity for us to do that.”
Mount is targeting a return to a European competition, minimum. “I’d say Europe. I think that’s the focus. The Champions League would be amazing for us. And as a group, we want to, and as players, we want to be playing in that competition. And that’s the goal.”
United bought Mount from Chelsea for £55m rising to £60m in 2023 to play in midfield alongside Casemiro. That experiment lasted two games and Mount has only played 47 times during two injury-plagued campaigns.
“We’ve looked at it and looked at why,” Mount said of his persistent injury issues, “and I feel we’re in a really, really good place now going into this season.”