Forgotten £55m midfielder may still have a part to play - if fit...

WITH less than a year left on his Chelsea contract, eyebrows were raised when United signed Mason Mount for an initial fee of £55million in July 2023.

- By GEORGE SMITH

United wanted to lower the average of their midfield options that summer and identified Mount as the ideal candidate to help them do so. He arrived at Old Trafford with the expectation of replacing Christian Eriksen in the starting XI.

Mount is eight years Eriksen's junior, meaning he was expected to walk straight into the team and offer United more energy. However, his Reds career has so far been restricted to just 32 appearances because of a series of injuries.

The former Derby County loanee has played just 12 times this season and last featured in the 2-1 win over City on December 15.

He started that triumph at the Etihad Stadium but was forced off with just 14 minutes played.

"Words can't portray how devastated I'm feeling right now," Mount wrote on Instagram a few days later. "You could probably see the look on my face when it happened. I knew what it meant."