Mount purring for Man Utd but does he have World Cup chance?

“I have to tell you, I love that kid.”

Ruben Amorim’s first public observations on Mason Mount after his appointment as Manchester United head coach just over a year ago have stood the test of time.

It has taken longer than hoped for United’s fanbase to come to the same conclusion, but Mount’s goal and overall performance at Wolves last week had them purring.

Suddenly, the hole left by the impending departure of Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo to the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) doesn’t look quite so difficult to fill.

Mount’s game intelligence plus his awareness and ability to play in tight spaces are coming to the fore. Now the phrase most used about him is: “His quality was never in doubt.”

Almost two and a half years into the five-year contract he signed in July 2023, Mount’s own bold declarations about the future have some meaning.

“I am hugely ambitious,” he said on his arrival at Old Trafford. “I know how amazing it feels to win major trophies and what it takes to do it.

“I will be giving everything to experience that again at Manchester United.”

A Champions League and Club World Cup winner with Chelsea, Mount was an injury-time substitute for United’s 2024 FA Cup final victory over Manchester City. He started the Europa League final defeat by Tottenham in May and was part of the United squad that finished 15th.

Not that the 26-year-old regrets leaving boyhood club Chelsea.

Speak privately to people who know Mount well and you get the impression restoring United’s fortunes offered the kind of challenge that enthused him.

Under Erik ten Hag at the time, the club made it clear they wanted him. That matters. It still does. That is why Amorim’s first words were perfectly put.

As the former Sporting coach assessed the squad he was inheriting, he knew in Mount he was getting a high-level, flexible player who could fit into a variety of different positions within his system, something Amorim felt he did not have enough of.

Left, right, as an orthodox number 10, as a six, or an eight, Mount has a range of experiences that make him very useful for a coach who regards adaptability as a key weapon.

“He’s a very smart player,” was Amorim’s response when asked about Mount on Friday before Monday’s Premier League game with Bournemouth. “He’s really technical.

“Sometimes being a technical player is not just having fun with the ball. It’s the quality of the pass, the reception, how to receive the ball. Mason can balance our team quite well.”

Amorim is not alone at United’s Carrington training ground in recognising Mount’s qualities. He is certainly not the only one genuinely glad a player who can offer so much is able to put injury issues to one side and deliver performances on a consistent basis.

No-one would argue the past couple of years have been easy. Mount himself has admitted dealing with two extended absences and a couple of smaller frustrating ones was tough.

But staff around Carrington admired the professional attitude Mount adopted throughout his various recoveries.

Training-ground sources have said the player left no stone unturned in pursuit of staying fit and was regularly one of the last to leave after long stints in the ice bath and sauna sessions.

He is regarded as a link within Amorim’s squad – someone who knits groups of players together – which has been particularly evident this season when, it is generally acknowledged, United’s players have remained tight and focused on delivering better results.

Mount is also well liked by non-football staff because he is helpful, which is not something that can be taken for granted in the playing department at United or any other club. He spends time with a couple of kids who are regulars outside the training ground, has spoken with them and their parents and still wears a bracelet one of them gave him.

These traits are all positives on a human scale.

However, in the pressurised world of the Premier League, they are side issues compared to delivering on the pitch – and just now, he is on a roll.

Outstanding in the win at Crystal Palace on 30 November, Mount followed up with an excellent performance against Wolves, who were admittedly poor at Molineux but proved they can be obdurate and diligent in their unlucky loss at Arsenal.

Goals in both victories have taken his overall tally for United to seven, to match his shirt number, a fact not lost on the club’s content creators who put them all on the app and launched a vote for which was the best. His second in the Europa League semi-final against Athletic Bilbao – a two-touch, 50-yard effort to seal a 4-1 win – came out on top.

Mount won the most recent of his 36 England caps in the 2022 World Cup quarter-final defeat by France in Qatar.

Despite three years without an international appearance, Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel has not forgotten him.

Mount revealed in the summer his former manager at Chelsea had been in touch. The pair were spotted chatting after last month’s home defeat by Everton and while competition for World Cup places is fierce and Mount is rated as unlikely to break in at this stage, it cannot entirely be discounted.

The player himself is not setting that as a target. Sources say his focus and drive remains on delivering on those first words following his arrival from Chelsea.

Mount recognises turning the United tanker around has to be a collective effort but there are signs it is heading in the right direction, even if the process is lengthy and not without the odd glitch.

He clearly has a significant role though. Mount has missed one game so far this season though injury. His impact is starting to be felt.