Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has been urged to consider using Mason Mount in a different position after the midfielder impressed in a brief cameo in the 1-0 win over Fulham. The £60million summer signing has largely struggled to produce his best form at Old Trafford since his big-money move from Chelsea and dropped to the bench at Craven Cottage. But Ten Hag’s decision to bring on Mount paid dividends late on after Bruno Fernandes’ late strike clinched three valuable points.

It was hardly a vintage performance from the visitors and had it not been for Andre Onana’s two fine stops to deny Joao Palhinha and Harry Wilson, Ten Hag’s position might have been a bit more perilous at the final whistle. 

But his proactive changes late on could prove crucial in turning things around for United. Mount and Anthony Martial came off the bench for Antony and Rasmus Hojlund, and the 24-year-old was lively in the central areas and drifted out wide where he created chances too.

His performance has led TNT Sport pundits Rio Ferdinand and Joe Cole to urge Ten Hag to consider playing Mount on the wing while Marcus Rashford and Antony’s place in the team is uncertain.

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Cole said: “Erik ten Hag described him as the perfect midfielder when he signed him. He’s still there, sometimes it’s difficult coming back from an injury which he had last season particularly when it’s not all roses at the club and you’re trying to settle in.

“If he could play Rashford on one side, and Mason perhaps on the other side, he could have a very exciting power, pace dynamic in his front three. We’ve seen Mason can score goals, important goals.

“Settling into a club can be difficult, we have to remember that he was at Chelsea since he was six. To leave the club, to leave everything behind, it can be emotionally and mentally massive, it’s a huge juggernaut of a club he’s come to and you’re not winning games, it’s difficult.

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“There’s no doubting his quality though, I have no qualms with saying that he’ll be a huge player for Manchester United at some point in the future. If he can play him further forward, let him settle, and things could look bright for him. He can’t play inside with Fernandes, Eriksen and Mount.”

Ferdinand agreed that Mount may be the best candidate to be deployed from the right, as it could alleviate the pressure on him to create chances in the middle: “I think that wide-right area is the conundrum for the manager,” Ferdinand added. “[Alejandro] Garnacho you could put out there maybe, but as Joe said, Mount is a top-level player that has proven he can perform.

“That takes a bit of pressure off the player as well, gives him a bit of freedom to get the chalk on his boots or cut inside and get that space. He has great end product, if Ten Hag can get him on the wing, we could see the Mount we saw in a blue shirt for Chelsea.”

The unavoidable fact is that Mount still is yet to score or assist a goal in eight appearances across the Premier League and Champions League since joining the club. But Cole doesn’t believe he will regret his move to Manchester, adding: “I don’t think he’s regretting his decisions, no. Every player, unless you’re a seriously elite level, will have peaks and troughs and this’ll be a difficult period for him.

“If I had to choose a player in that squad to save my career as a manager at that club, Mason Mount would be one of those players in that team. We’ve seen big players go to United, and it’s demanding, it’s a big change. He’ll get there.”

Ferdinand also suggested that Mount may have had it too easy at his boyhood club Chelsea and is facing a new level of pressure with United. He said: “I mean this with no disrespect to Chelsea, but when he was there, he was almost like a golden boy. So he never got that criticism, never had negative scrutiny, he’s never had that in his life.

“he pressure when you come to Man United, it’s a different kind of weight on his shoulders, and he just needs time – you should never be judging a player on their first year at a club. He’ll be a surefire bet to make it as a Manchester United footballer.”

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