Tribal Football

Mason Mount & Amorim: A barometer for this new Man Utd era...?

Chris Beattie, Editor
Mason Mount & Amorim: A barometer for this new Man Utd era...?
Mason Mount & Amorim: A barometer for this new Man Utd era...?MasonMountOfficial/Facebook
COMMENT: Beset by injury problems, form issues and even positional doubts, 18 months into his career at Manchester United and fans barely know him. But if there is to be barometer as to how the Ruben Amorim era is progressing, then Mason Mount could be that man...

For the United support, they've had their early introduction to the new manager. We've heard from Amorim about his building blocks. The foundations he wants to lay. The three at the back. The eagerness to work with youth. The insistence that the players adjust to his system and not vice-versa. The manager has taken the support through his early plans and thoughts. Amorim basically confirming what we were told he would bring to Old Trafford before last Friday's debut at Portman Road.

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And beyond what we've seen on the pitch, what's also been on display has been early signs of Amorim's approach to man-management. Like his 3-4-3. Like his support of youth. Amorim also arrived with peers and confidants talking up the connection he establishes with his players. Always positive. Always supportive. It's a strength of Amorim many inside the Portuguese game have championed.

"I think he wins a lot with his communication," says Vasco Seabra, the Arouca coach. "It is really, really good. His message is clear and it is easy to understand. The players connect with him easily. 

"Even on the outside, for the reporters and the public, it is really simple and really concrete."

And that "communication" has been on display ever since that first glimpse of Amorim inside the Carrington gym during international week. The Portuguese, quickly identifying a potential foundation stone in his system, has gone out of his way to publicly talk up (or is that build-up?) United's forgotten midfielder, Mason Mount.

"I have to tell you I love that kid," declared Amorim seven days ago. "You can look in his eyes that he wants this so bad. And this is the most important thing for me.

"I know he was suffering from injuries, he was not on the pitch, but now he's trying to stay fit and we hope he can continue to be fit, to show all the talent that he's shown, for example, in Chelsea." 

And then on Friday, ahead of the visit of Everton, Amorim again volunteered: "He's shown that he's a really good player. He's a European champion. He just needs to stay in shape. Like all the guys in the team, he's a quality player.

"He needs to improve and believe in himself. In some details, you can see that Mason Mount is a real footballer. We all believe in him here. I believe a lot in Mason Mount."

As we say, for a player largely forgotten, perhaps even written off as a factor for United, Amorim's words were no throwaway lines. Through the press, the manager was sending a clear message to Mount: I'm counting on you, indeed, we need you. 

Regulars of this column will know we were always fans of Erik ten Hag - and were in his corner. But the Dutchman never spoke about Mount in such an effusive way as Amorim has this past week. And this has come from a manager who has never worked with the midfielder, nor seen him perform - like anyone connected to United - consistently over these past 18 months. But he's made a conscious effort to highlight a player who's had next-to-no influence on the team since his arrival.

And you fancy, as Amorim has clearly recognised, this is just what Mount needs. His departure from Chelsea was bitter. Acrimonious. Mount feeling he was almost pushed out by the club's board. A lack of recognition for what he'd achieved with and for the club, still burns Mount today. 

And that knock of confidence has increased in a Manchester United shirt. The injuries struck him down. The form slide followed. But there was also the nagging question: just where does he fit? Was he a first-choice for Ten Hag? Or simply cover for Bruno Fernandes...?

In the end, Ten Hag never had the chance to establish an answer. But Amorim, with Mount now fully fit, does. And it's clear he sees big things for Mount in his 3-4-3 system. The England international's versatility something Amorim is eager utilise.

But first, as the manager says himself, there is the player's fitness. Then there is Mount's belief. And Amorim and his staff have set about rebuilding both components - on the training pitch and through the press.

Mount, indeed, could be the barometer. The measuring stick as to how well the Amorim era is progressing. If Mount can rediscover his Chelsea form, then Manchester United and their new manager will clearly be on the right track.

 

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