Andy Cole: ‘Mason Mount is beginning to look like the Mason Mount we saw for Chelsea’
Manchester United’s pre-season tour of the United States came to an end after a 3-0 defeat to bitter rivals Liverpool in the early hours of Sunday morning, but there were still many positives for Erik ten Hag to take from his side’s warm up to the new Premier League campaign, including the performances of Mason Mount. Manchester United legend Andy Cole believes the club’s number seven is beginning to look like the player we saw excel at Derby County and Chelsea and believes he’s ‘forcing Erik ten Hag’s hand’ to start for the Red Devils going into the new season. Speaking exclusively to Betfred, Cole also discussed the injury to new signing Leny Yoro, why Rasmus Højlund's absence could present an opportunity for Joshua Zirkzee and Marc Guéhi being linked with a move to Newcastle United.
Leny Yoro, Manchester United’s new £52 million signing, has been ruled out for the next three months. From the glimpses you saw of him during pre-season, were you impressed with what you saw? Do you believe the injury shouldn’t be too detrimental to the impact he could have during his first season at Old Trafford? The MEN have claimed that the club are trying to look at the injury in a positive light in the sense that Yoro will have time to familiarise himself with his new surroundings.
“In the short period of time he’s been here, it looks as if he’s made a decent impact. He’s looked confident, he steps out with the ball and his positioning looks really good. Football is football though and injuries are a part of that, but it’s just sad that he’s picked one up in pre-season. I was there when he suffered it and it looked like he’d done his ankle, but now we know it’s his metatarsal. Fingers crossed he’ll come back nice and strong, get himself in the team and start producing the goods. Everybody knows that he’s more than capable of doing that.
“There’s no positive for the manager or the player when there’s an injury. Young players want to play all the time and be fit. No doubt he’s come to Manchester United and wanted to start afresh and perform straight away. He’ll be disappointed and the manager will be disappointed, but it’s part and parcel of football.”
With Rasmus Højlund being ruled out for the next few weeks, would you like to see Joshua Zirkzee start the first game of the Premier League season against Fulham, or do you believe the club will plan to bed him in slowly and opt potentially for a false nine, as we saw Jadon Sancho playing in that role during pre-season?
“It all depends on fitness. I would be surprised if any of the boys that have come back late are involved in the Community Shield. They’ve only been back at Carrington for a week, if that, so I’d be surprised if they’re involved, but you never know. Against Fulham in their opening Premier League game, I expect everybody to be involved at some point. We’ll have to wait and see.
“I think Sancho has looked okay in pre-season. It looks as if he’s got his confidence back and he’s a talented kid, regardless of whether that’s him playing as a false nine or not. All he’s got to do now is get his head down and let his feet do the talking. It looks as if he and the manager have resolved the problems they had last season and everybody’s got to crack on. It’s a clean slate and time to move forward.”
With Rasmus Højlund being injured currently, do you believe it presents Joshua Zirkzee with the perfect opportunity to cement himself in Manchester United’s starting XI?
“When a player is injured, it gives another an opportunity and it all depends on whether they can take their chance. Zirkzee has to go in there and take his chance. Naturally, there’s going to be two players vying for that position and they’re two young players that are ultimately learning about the Premier League. Zirkzee is brand new to it, but Rasmus is still learning about it too. I’m hoping that they can both help each other and they’ve got a very good coach in Ruud [van Nistelrooy] that can help them along the way as well.”
Rasmus Højlund came to the club injured when he was signed last summer and again this season, he will miss the first few games through injury. How desperately did he need a full pre-season? Are you worried that he may require a bit of time to hit form this upcoming campaign?
“Everybody needs a full pre-season. When you miss a pre-season, or you miss a couple of weeks, you’re always going to be playing catch up. When you go into the season playing catch up, then it becomes a little bit difficult because everybody else is a couple of weeks in front of you.
“Against Arsenal in pre-season, Rasmus looked fit and strong coming back from the Euros and those are his assets anyway because he’s a physical, old fashioned centre-forward. I spoke to him briefly and he’s looking forward to the new season. There’s no doubt that he just wants to go out there and score as many goals as possible. Manchester United for a while haven’t had a striker that has scored 25 goals in a season, so it has to be one of Rasmus or Zirkzee or the pair of them could hopefully get 15 goals each and then you have others chipping in around them.
“I’m looking forward to watching the pair of them this season. I’ve not seen much of Zirkzee, so it will be interesting to see how he settles into the Premier League. It’s a big move for him and it’s a big season for Rasmus, so I’m looking forward to watching the pair of them play.”
We now want to ask you about some of the players that have stood out for Manchester United during their pre-season campaign. Firstly, do you believe Amad Diallo, who scored twice in pre-season, has proven that he’s capable of going into the new season as the club’s first-choice winger on the right hand side? Are you expecting big things from him?
“He’s had to wait a long time to get his opportunity but watching him at the back end of last season, he took his chance and I thought he was really, really good. He’s lively, wants to get on the ball and do something. He’s been up there with his performances in pre-season and when you’re doing that, all you can try and do is force the manager’s hand and I think that’s exactly what he’s trying to do. His performances have been really good, he’s been lively and that’s what pre-season is all about because he’s showing the manager that he’s in good form and really wants to start the season.”
Secondly, how promising do you believe the performances of Mason Mount have been during pre-season? Once Bruno Fernandes rejoins the group, where do you believe Mason could start in Manchester United’s starting XI? Do you believe he’s capable of playing in a deeper role in the midfield?
“The good thing about Mason is that he’s looked after himself during the summer and got himself fit. He had a lot of injuries last season, which I heard stemmed from his back, and during pre-season he looked like the kid that played at Derby and the kid that started for Chelsea. He’s another player that will be looking to force the manager’s hand and get in the team early doors. He’s been very lively, really positive and he’s another player that can have a big season at Manchester United.
“Last season was a bit of a write off for him, but it’s a clean slate and he can go again and get himself back in the team.”
Thirdly, do you believe Toby Collyer deserves to be a part of Manchester United’s first-team squad this season? Do you believe he’s a midfielder that offers Erik ten Hag’s team something different?
“At the back end of last season, he was a player that everybody was talking about for this upcoming campaign. Naturally, it all depends on the amount of players that Manchester United have in their midfield, but he has a great chance. Watching him against Liverpool in pre-season, I thought he played really well and he’s done that in the other games he’s participated in too. He’s rated very highly and if he’s not going to play a lot at Manchester United this season, then allowing him to go on loan would be a very good idea, but it all depends on what the club are looking to do in that area of the squad and whether they’re looking to bring in another central-midfielder. If they are, then there’s a good chance he could go out on loan and gain some experience, but I definitely believe he has a big future at Manchester United.”
And finally, Harry Amass has impressed during the club’s tour of the United States. There was talk at the start of the transfer window claiming that Manchester United were interested in signing a new left-back this summer, but do you believe the performances of Amass have made that conversation redundant? Do you believe he’s ready to start for the club if needed in a competitive capacity?
“You’ve got to be ready, it’s that simple. Injuries at Manchester United have picked up, but whether the club wants to bring in a new full-back is another question. I think what he has done in pre-season has been very, very positive, so for me personally, looking at the tour and where the players are at, it was a good pre-season with lots of positives. Of course the injuries were negative but overall, I think everyone will be very happy with how the tour went.
“Pre-season is all about getting everyone fit to a certain extent, but more importantly, you’re looking at performances and if you look at the performances in general, they were really good. We will have to wait and see who remains with the first-team squad, but I think everyone is going into this new season in good form.”
Speaking of left-back, the tabloids are reporting that Manchester United are interested in signing Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell, with the England international’s future uncertain at Stamford Bridge. Considering his injury record in recent years, do you believe this rumour is a complete non-starter?
“First and foremost, I would love to know where these rumours come from. I think Chilwell is possibly Chelsea’s number one full-back anyway, but there’s also Marc Cucurella there too. In football, you just never know what can happen, but I’d be very surprised if that move materialised. However, stranger things have happened.”
Hannibal Mejbri is linked with moves to SPL giants Celtic and Rangers. He’s still only 21 years of age and do you think he will be a star in Scotland if any of those moves come to fruition?
“He’s a kid that’s had a taste of first-team football that naturally wants to play more and more. At Sevilla, there was an option in his deal that would have allowed him to join them permanently, so it looks as if there’s an open door allowing him to move on.
“If he has the opportunity to move to either Celtic or Rangers, then why not? It’s that simple. He’s going to find it difficult to get into the Manchester United team, so it will be interesting to see if the club decides to move him on and either loan him out or try and get a decent transfer fee for him and then use that money to try and do some business elsewhere. It would be an interesting one.”
In your Tour Diary for Manchester United during pre-season, you spoke of your admiration for the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. After seeing the stadium first hand, are you more open to the idea of Manchester United moving to an entirely new ground in the future?
“I’ve been so fortunate to be able to come and look at these stadiums, I think they’re absolutely amazing. I was at the SoFi last week, I was at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas last pre-season and I was at the Williams-Brice Stadium in South Carolina on Saturday and they were all unbelievable.
“I was told that the SoFi stadium cost £5 billion and that’s a hell of a lot of money. The Allegiant Stadium is air conditioned, so you’re talking about a lot of money. In regards to Manchester United, they’ll do whatever’s best for the club. What I’ve seen from the stadiums in the United States though is very, very special.”
And finally on Manchester United, how much of a loss do you believe Steve McClaren is to the club after he became the new manager of Jamaica?
“Steve’s a fantastic coach, but coaches come and go just like players. However, when you have a coach like Steve, then of course you’re going to miss him, but he’s been replaced by good coaches at Manchester United now anyway with the restructuring that’s going on at the club currently.
“In Steve’s case, managing the Jamaican national team is going to be an experience for him. I’m talking from my own experience as a person that has Jamaican parents and an understanding of what my family is all about, so it’s going to be an eye-opening experience for Steve. He’s going to realise that us Jamaicans are not very easy and that he’s going to be under pressure because they believe that they can qualify for the World Cup in two years’ time, which is the same length of time as the contract he’s been offered.
“He’s managed England, a number of clubs across England and abroad, as well as being a coach at Manchester United, but going to Jamaica will be an eye-opening experience for him, so I wish him all the best.”
The Athletic have claimed that Newcastle United have opened talks over the signing of Crystal Palace defender, and England international, Marc Guéhi. Do you believe this move would represent the perfect next step for Marc in his career or do you believe he’s capable of starting for the majority of the Premier League’s leading clubs? It’s been said that Liverpool are also very interested in the centre-back.
“I believe he’s more than capable of playing for any of the top teams in the Premier League. I’m not just talking about what people saw of him at the Euros because when I’ve watched him for Crystal Palace, and when he was on loan at Swansea City from Chelsea, you could see that he had something and he’s proved that now. If Newcastle got him, then that would be a fantastic coup. Newcastle have found themselves in this crazy situation where they’ve hardly spent any money but they’re still a bit dictated by FFP, but if they got Marc, then that would be great.
“I’m not saying that [Fabian] Schär isn’t a good centre-back, because he is, but if Newcastle are looking to tidy up and become a stronger team, then Marc and [Sven] Botman at the back wouldn’t be a bad partnership. However, like I said, I think he could play for anyone because he’s proven that he’s that good. Even before he went to the Euros, people believed in him and were talking about Gareth Southgate taking him to the competition. He would never let anybody down, but now I think everybody knows that this kid can perform at the highest level. He’s always had it in him, so if Newcastle got him, that would be a good coup.”
And the final player we want to ask you about is Liverpool’s Joe Gomez. He’s said to be considering his future at Anfield after it emerged that he was reportedly offered to Newcastle United in a swap deal involving Anthony Gordon. Despite that swap deal not coming to fruition, if Newcastle United do hold a serious interest in the defender, then do you believe Joe would be a good signing for your former club?
“I like him. What goes against him is the fact that he can play in so many different positions. Some people may look at that as a positive, but some could look at it as a negative as well because he can play left-back, right-back and centre-half, so when players have got injured at Liverpool, he’s come in and filled in, and that goes against him because he’s never playing in a set position regularly. I think he’s a very good player, but he just needs a good, solid run in a team. That’s all he needs. He needs a good run in the team, for whichever club that may be, and a manager that believes in him, so he can prove just how good he is.”
