Why Man Utd want to pay Mason Mount's FULL transfer fee

Cameron Smith

• 22 Dec 2023 19:03 GMT
• 3 min read

Mason Mount joined Manchester United for an initial €64.2 million (£55m) from Chelsea this summer, but his start to life at Old Trafford hasn’t gone as planned.

The Englishman is yet to score his first Man Utd goal and he only has one assist in 12 games for the club.

A similarly-worrying fact is his current injury record. Mount has missed 12 games through injury so far this season, including the last six matches across the Premier League and Champions League.

Furthermore, his place in Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad is in serious doubt and he faces an uphill battle to prove his worth to the England manager.

His last Three Lions appearance came in the quarter-final defeat to France in last year's World Cup and his current form and injury record suggests that he will not be on the plane to Germany.

While the start of Mount’s Man Utd career hasn’t been impressive, the Red Devils will be hoping their substantial investment pays off in the long run.

Although the Red Devils spent €64.2m (£55m) to sign the midfielder from Chelsea, his transfer fee could increase by a further €5.8m (£5m) if add-on clauses are met.

According to The Athletic, these are split into five £1m increments, which could be paid to Chelsea if Mount plays 70% of games in a title-winning season. As Mount signed a five-year contract when he joined Man Utd, these add-ons could be activated five times.

As a result, Man Utd will be hoping to pay £5m more for Mount as it will mean they will have won the Premier League title in each of the next five seasons (including the 2023-24 campaign).

Mason Mount slammed for Man Utd start

Mount’s slow start at Man Utd has seen him feel the wrath of former Red Devils star Louis Saha. In November, he told Betfred: “I get asked a lot to comment on players, especially the likes of Marcus Rashford and Antony, but is there some sort of protection over Mason Mount?

“Mason should have an important role in this team, but nobody can understand his impact.

“I think there may be a misunderstanding about where Mount fits into the team positionally. When he plays in the centre of midfield, he seems like he’s too far advanced up the pitch when he should be protecting pockets of space that leave his team exposed. I personally don’t understand his position.

“Mason Mount should be a big player for Manchester United like Marcus Rashford or Antony, so I don’t understand why those two get the intense criticism but Mason doesn’t when he’s not performing at all.

“He’s not scoring goals, he’s not assisting and nobody’s speaking about it. I just don’t understand it.”