It’s not often Graeme Souness has anything positive to say about Manchester United, but the former Liverpool midfielder is a fan of our new signing Mason Mount.
Mount, 24, joined United following his £60m transfer from Chelsea – ending an 18-year association with the London club by becoming Erik ten Hag’s first signing of the summer.
The England international made 195 appearances for Chelsea and won the Champions League in 2021, so most of our readers have been aware of his ability for some time. Now we get to watch him in a United shirt and Souness is waxing lyrical about it.
Souness says he has ‘always liked’ Mount and expects him to become a star at United.
“I have always liked Mount, there is nothing to dislike about him,” Souness told the Daily Mail.
“He has great technique and works his socks off. He is also leaving a big club to join, arguably, the biggest club.
“But he has shown he can handle the expectation of playing for Chelsea and England and, if he takes to his new surroundings at Old Trafford, he could be a star.
“He needs to get more goals playing that far up the field. And he can, because he’s cute enough in those areas.
“His record at Chelsea was one in six, which is good, but the challenge is to make that even better. I think he will be a very good player for Manchester United.”
Souness is not something we usually go to for opinions, but I feel Mount has been harshly criticised by small sections of our support since signing. Some unhappy with the signing, which they are entitled to be, but I’m talking more about the criticism that came with some of his performances over the pre-season tour.
I thought Mount did well in the US and believe he will only get better with time. He is still familiarising himself with Ten Hag’s approach, but when it clicks I’m sure we will have a fine player on our hands.
United start their 2023/24 Premier League campaign against Wolves on Monday night when Mount is expected to make his competitive debut.
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