da apostebet： Manchester United are a club in crisis at the moment, given their lofty expectations and vast underperformance this campaign.
da realbet： Sitting tenth in the Premier League and in serious peril of crashing out of the Champions League at the group stages, it was expected that Erik ten Hag would build on last season's impressive run which saw them claim third and win the EFL Cup. However, if anything they have regressed.
That is not without investing heavily too, as the Red Devils often do, seeking to take the foundation forged by the likes of Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez, and take it to the next level.
Acquisitions such as Rasmus Hojlund, Andre Onana and Sofyan Amrabat were all expected to do that, supplemented by arguably the safest bet of them all, Mason Mount.
Although the £55m expended marked a huge fee, given his entire career had been played in England it was expected that he would fit seamlessly into a new system and become as integral for them as he was for his boyhood club Chelsea.
However, that has unfortunately been far from the case.
How good is Mason Mount?
Whilst he has never been famed for the stellar figures he posts with regard to goals and assists, although he has enjoyed some standout years, the rate at which he has kickstarted his career at Old Trafford has been more than disappointing.
After all, the key facets of the England international's game have largely been his tactical dexterity, and ability to fit into most attacking roles. The 24-year-old is a facilitator, and is meant to make those around him better.
Given where they stand across numerous competitions, floundering in both the Premier League and Champions League, it is clear he is failing in such a task.
It was only two years ago that Mount was lighting up the former division, having scored 11 and assisted ten, with former manager Thomas Tuchel noting: "It is always a pleasure to work with Mason because he is the kind of guy who comes with a smile on his face to every single training session. It is always 100 per cent in matches, he accepts every challenge and that is why it is so nice to work with him."
However, that hard-working creator that the German tactician lauded is yet to be found following that summer switch, which has seen even the most positive of midfielders dragged down into the mire that the great club seems to emanate.
A visual outliner of his downturn in form is showcased through his 1.4 shots, 1.3 key passes and 1.4 tackles he made per game last campaign in the league, having seen the first two drop to 0.8 and 1.0 per game in the new term, via Sofascore. Whilst his roles may be ever-changing as Ten Hag seeks to find a new winning formula, there is no excuse for such a dramatic change in his attacking impetus.
What makes this especially frustrating is how one of their recent sales is performing since departing the club, with James Garner having left in 2022, and now grown into a fine Premier League ace.
Why did Manchester United sell James Garner?
As an academy graduate, his departure was never likely to be well-received, especially after the stunning loan campaign he had enjoyed with Nottingham Forest.
The 22-year-old had surely done enough to merit a potential emergence into the first team, and yet Ten Hag instead saw fit to cash in on the young maestro, with Everton the more than willing recipient.
After all, from defensive midfield, the classy enforcer had managed to feature in 41 Championship games, recording 12 goal contributions whilst recording 1.1 shots, two key passes and 1.8 tackles per game, via Sofascore.
His work in helping the Tricky Trees return to the top flight was nothing short of monumental, with Steve Cooper rushing to praise him: "He’s good for a goal. He’s around the set-pieces a lot and he’s a good technician. His out-of-possession game might go under the radar, but that’s been really good as well. He reads and intercepts some really important passes and that’s as pleasing for me as the other stuff.”
Then, Arsenal legend Martin Keown would laud his set-piece play further, noting: "Again, set-piece, the ball in from Garner is an absolute beauty, look at the whip on that. You can’t underestimate the quality that Garner is putting into this box. He’s on loan from Manchester United – they need to be thinking about getting him back there quickly!"
Despite this, he had not done enough to impress the Dutch manager, with The Athletic reporting the thought process when sanctioning his £15m sale: 'Ten Hag was the key voice in allowing James Garner to leave. He judged Garner not at the level to play every week and United decided to bank cash rather than send the midfielder on loan where there was no guarantee his value would rise.'
How is James Garner playing?
Whilst his first year on Merseyside was a troubled one – as the youngster was hampered by injury, perhaps seemingly vindicating their decision to offload – Garner's start to the current one has been exceptional, and directly coincided with United's own struggles.
Creative yet combative in numerous positions for Sean Dyche, the £30k-per-week workhorse is easily outperforming Mount despite being two years his junior, having scored one and assisted one whilst averaging 1.6 shots, 1.5 key passes and 4.1 ball recoveries per game, via Sofascore.
What makes this even more impressive is that Garner too shares that tactical flexibility that Mount boasts, yet has not allowed it, or a negative atmosphere within their respective clubs, to hamper his form.
Dyche would laud that adaptability: "I think it gives us more options for Jimmy, I think he’s applied himself to anything we’ve asked of him, which is terrific of him from a young player in the Premier League.
David De Gea
Luke Shaw
Victor Lindelof
Chris Smalling
Diogo Dalot
Scott McTominay
Fred
Paul Pogba
Alexis Sanchez
Romelu Lukaku
Ashley Young
“Playing wide, playing wing-back, in certainly one of our main hours of need at the end of last season, doing a very good job. I thought he played very well down at Brentford in a wider position – I think he can perform there because of his delivery and the power he’s got."
With Mount struggling and Garner thriving, and the huge price attached to the former, perhaps Ten Hag could have saved himself millions had he removed his biases and kept faith in the youth. Instead, it is the Toffees now profiting.