It is a classic footballing cliche that sometimes a player can become better when they're not in the team. The flaws apparent in their absence can elevate their own qualities in the eyes of supporters and they can quickly become the solution.
Alternatively, the new signing arriving at a time when his new team are in a slump can be declared the panacea to their problems. Step forward Mason Mount and Sofyan Amrabat. Nobody was quite declaring the £60 million midfielder and the £8.7 million loanee as the cure to United's issues, but four defeats in five games and three in succession to Arsenal, Brighton and Bayern Munich had exposed structural issues in midfield.
Mount was United's main midfield signing this summer, a key piece of the puzzle Erik ten Hag was creating, but his first couple of games for notable for his lack of impact. It had been a familiar theme in a pre-season in which he failed to shine.
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Mount was part of a sloppy team performance against Wolves on the opening weekend of the season and then involved in a midfield that was overrun at Tottenham, when he played 85 minutes without touching the ball in the Spurs' penalty area. It felt indicative of his start at the club and endemic of United's start in general that Ten Hag was already eyeing another midfielder in Amrabat, albeit one of a very different profile to Mount.
Ten Hag knew what he was getting in Amrabat, having worked with him for two seasons at FC Utrecht. He declared him a "warrior" when picking him at left-back against Crystal Palace on Tuesday night.
Mount doesn't fit that bill but his workrate is prodigious. Had Ten Hag got his
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