While Erik ten Hag may have legitimate complaints about his Christmas presents this year, the Dutch manager can have none regarding his summer hauls.
Last year, Manchester United spent over £200 million in the pursuit of providing ten Hag with the means to begin rebuilding the team in his image. Ajax alone were injected with around £130 million, as two of the manager’s former starlets followed him to Manchester, alongside Casemiro, Tyrell Malacia and Christian Eriksen.
Only Chelsea would spend more that summer.
This costly outlay would inhibit United’s capability in the market come January however, with Ten Hag forced to settle for loan deals rather than permanent upgrades. A successful season ensued, with a Carabao Cup and third place secured, but disappointing exits in the Europa League and FA Cup final give pause to what may have been with further investment.
This summer has not followed suit however.
A hierarchy of needs was established for United to pursue; a “comfortable distributor” in goal, a versatile midfielder and an “elite goal-scorer” constituting a three-man wish list. There were concerns the club would not possess the requisite budget to land quality upgrades in all three positions but these appear unfounded thus far.
Rasmus Højlund is seemingly close to joining Andre Onana and Mason Mount in a transfer splurge potentially worth in excess of £150 million. The three men theoretically fulfil the criteria of the wish list, although concerns persist about each individually.
It constitutes a summer of success for Ten Hag however, who is set to be equipped with his three first-choice options for the positions of need. But a successful summer always demands a successful season at a big club. A manager who has received the financial backing the Dutchman has must translate that investment off-the-pitch into results on it.
From this perspective, ten Hag will live and die by the performances of Mount in particular.
Onana is a pronounced upgrade on David de Gea as a goalkeeper within the Dutch manager’s system. Having already performed successfully under Ten Hag at Ajax, Onana is a quintessential modern goalkeeper – as adept with the ball at his feet as in his hands. He is comfortable operating as an aggressive sweeper in a high-line system and possesses the confidence required to wear the number one shirt.
There is little concern Onana will be a net-positive for United in comparison to his predecessor, as he is tailor-made for Ten Hag in a way De Gea could never be.
Similarly, Højlund will be an instantaneous upgrade on Anthony Martial and Wout Weghorst, albeit for differing reasons.
Martial has become the boy who cried fit. When the forward is available for selection he has largely played well, with Ten Hag firm in his belief United “play better” with Martial up front. Yet he is perpetually unavailable.
Martial missed 27 games last season through injury, courtesy of a wide variety of different maladies. It has reached the stage where the Frenchman cannot be relied upon to lead the line, as a return to the physio room always feels imminent. And even when he does play, there is the sense of a lack energy and explosiveness, both on and off the ball. This feeling will not exist with Højlund.
Weghorst requires no analysis. Often resembling a fan who won a competition to take to the field at Old Trafford, the Dutch striker was a short-term answer to a question no-one asked. While his attitude and work-rate were commendable, his lack of mobility and quality often defied belief. As did his lack of aerial prowess despite an imposing frame.
While concerns about Højlund’s ability to adapt to the Premier League are valid, as are questions about the price involved for a relatively unproven player, Ten Hag reportedly “loves” the forward and believes he is the “perfect fit” tactically.
There is little doubt, therefore, Højlund will be an upgrade in the centre-forward position, as the Dane merely needs to be able to stay fit and run fast to surpass his two predecessors.
Which brings us to Mount.
Often at times last season Ten Hag was forced to compromise in midfield; choosing between quality on the ball and physicality off it, dependent on the opposition. While a hybrid of Christian Eriksen and Fred would be an elite player, cloning technology has yet to enter the realm of football. Mount represents Ten Hag’s solution to this compromise.
As comfortable with the ball as without, Mount possesses a collection of attributes relating to attitude, athleticism and ability which make him ideal for the Dutch manager. Ten Hag has held a long-standing admiration of the Cobham graduate since watching Mount play brilliantly on loan for Vitesse Arnhem against Ajax in a 3-2 win in 2018.
Signed for a significant fee and entrusted with the number seven shirt, Mount has been brought in as the undisputed first-choice option in midfield, alongside Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes; one a natural defensive midfielder, the other a natural attacking midfielder. Where does this leave Mount?
It may ensue something of a positional change. Often deployed as a number ten, or from the left with the freedom to drift in, Mount has rarely operated deeper on the pitch in his career. Manchester United’s opening two pre-season games suggest this is exactly where he will be playing however.
Selected alongside Kobbie Mainoo and Hannibal Mejbri, Mount would find himself the deepest pivot in midfield at times, while the furthest forward at others. Mount spoke of his enjoyment in that position following the Leeds game:
“I really liked that role today…Being able to drop in and get on the ball and start the play from a bit deeper but also having that freedom to be able to get forward and get in the box..”
His energy and intelligence make him well-suited to this all-action role, but it represents a gamble by ten Hag to place an expensive new signing in a somewhat unfamiliar role. It is not a gamble he has taken with his profile of goalkeeper or striker for example, who are both being asked to play the exact role they already fulfil at their previous clubs.
Furthermore, while Mount offers the technical qualities of Eriksen, as well as the physical attributes of Fred, he is not the ‘Frenkie De Jong’-style midfielder many thought United would target this summer. His acquisition almost infers a long-term transition in United’s set-up, as explained here, to compensate for a midfield possessing two attacking midfielders. The success of this system at Arsenal and Manchester City gives credence to the idea however.
Transitioning from De Gea to Onana and Weghorst to Højlund are self-evident upgrades for ten Hag’s system; Mount remains a less obvious choice. Casemiro once described the midfield as the “heartbeat” of the team and it concisely explains the importance the centre-of-the-pitch holds. Mount will be playing a fundamental role in the overall functionality of the team; if he falters, so to will United.
Given the importance ten Hag placed upon Mount’s transfer, the Dutchman will live or die by his number seven’s adaptation to the midfield general role next season – a role he may be learning on the job.
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