Mason Mount, once wanted by Liverpool, has revealed his decision to join Manchester United this summer

Mason Mount has explained why he would rather move to Manchester United than Liverpool this summer.
United confirmed the signing of Mount from Chelsea on Wednesday.

This is Erik ten Hag’s first signing this summer in a deal initially valued at £55m, with possible surcharges of £5m.

The England international has signed a five-year contract at Old Trafford which runs until the summer of 2028 with an option for a further year. Mount’s move to Manchester ends an 18-year spell at Chelsea, during which he won the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.

Liverpool were known as admirers of the player who, aged 24 and qualifying as a local player, fitted the profile needed at both Fenway Sports Group and the recruitment team in Jürgen Klopp’s engine room overhaul.

However, the Reds turned their attention elsewhere when it became known Mount was only interested in a move to Old Trafford r. The Reds have so far signed both Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai in this transfer window.

And in his first interview since completing his move to Old Trafford, Mount revealed to MUTV why he was so eager to join United this summer.
“A few months ago it became clear that I wasn’t in Chelsea’s future plans, and once I knew United were involved, my decision was made.

“A huge club, great iconic players who have played here and I wanted to be part of it from the start. Getting here early and getting ready for the start of pre-season was also one of my main goals.

More news……

Liverpool have discovered two more playmakers like Trent Alexander-Arnold after $122m transfers

Liverpool new signing Dominik Szoboszlai has some things in common with Alexis Mac Allister and they could be a devastatingly effective pairing for the Reds.

Two pieces of Liverpool’s starting XI are still in place. Dominik Szoboszlai, a new $77m (£60m) signing, looks set to line up as number eight on the right, with previously signed Alexis Mac Allister on the left.
Their roles are likely to differ – Jürgen Klopp has called Mac Allister a “jack of all trades” (via the official Liverpool website) and Szoboszlai is likely to get more offensive licenses – but the Reds will also be using their shared guns.

One is the through ball, defined by Opta as a pass that breaks the defense to make a teammate collide. We explained in this article why this art is somewhat of a dying art in the modern game, but Mac Allister and Szoboszlai are two of the few remaining representatives.

Together, Szoboszlai and Mac Allister made 31 of those assists last season, and for comparison, the entire Liverpool midfield made 39 in the Premier League.

With a total of 15, Mac Allister was 10th in the English top flight, while Szoboszlai was third in the Bundesliga at 15, ahead of Chelsea newcomer Christopher Nkunku (11) and former Reds target Jude Bellingham (nine ). .

Another characteristic common to both players is their preference for the so-called “forward pass”. This is the penultimate pass before a shot.

Szoboszlai actually led the Bundesliga in this department with 41 last season (via The Analyst), while Mac Allister wasn’t far behind in the Premier League with 37. It is often precisely the passes that lead to a really dangerous situation and therefore represent important game elements. With the duo also having deadly balls in their repertoire, they are able to downplay the defense and the prospect of fielding them alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold is therefore enticing.

One of the concerns so far has been that Liverpool have no plan B when Alexander-Arnold is unavailable.

The Englishman is at the heart of Klopp’s new system and operates in a hybrid midfield role, but needs rest from time to time and is also prone to odd injuries.

At the start of the summer, the Reds’ midfield squad lacked the creativity to adequately compensate for their absence and the club have already ruled out the possibility of signing another full-back to fill the same role (via The Athletic).

With Calvin Ramsay on loan at Preston North End and Conor Bradley still short of top-flight experience, Joe Gomez, Liverpool’s strongest alternative to Alexander-Arnold, is ill-equipped to break into midfield.

Alexander-Arnold would therefore leave quite a void. He recorded 124 plays creating shots in the Premier League last season, second only to Mohamed Salah in the Liverpool ranks and well ahead of Andy Robertson (95) in third place.

The best performing midfielder in this area was Harvey Elliott, who made just 75.

But even if Liverpool will now have to revert to a more conventional 4-3-3 without Alexander-Arnold, Szoboszlai and Mac Allister will be ready to take over the game again.

While the pair have cost Liverpool $122m together, they may have saved the club some cash on an Alexander-Arnold ‘clone’ at the same time.