Mason Mount produced an impressive first-half display for Manchester United in their Carabao Cup third round clash against Crystal Palace.
The 24-year-old midfielder, who joined United from Chelsea in the summer for a reported £60 million, returned to action on Tuesday night following a five-week spell on the sidelines.
And he made an instant impact for Erik ten Hag's side, pulling the strings in midfield before registering his first direct goal involvement in a United shirt.
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Shortly after Alejandro Garnacho opened the scoring, Mount curled in a perfectly-weighted cross to Casemiro, who beat substitute goalkeeper Sam Johnstone to double their lead.
Mount, who created more chances than any other player in the opening 45 minutes [3], continued to look dangerous going forward, linking play with Hannibal Mejbri and another summer signing, Sofyan Amrabat.
You can check out his assist below.
Erik ten Hag thinks Mount has all the ingredients to succeed in a deeper midfield role this season, but says he needs more time to adapt.
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So far, the United number 7 has struggled to find his feet but Ten Hag believes he will flourish in the coming months.
"I think he can [play deeper]," he said. "Already, we have seen it in pre-season, but it's what I've said, definitely we have to work on many facets of our game but also that facet about midfield and the cooperation, how we have to set it.
"I'm sure we will get it [right], but it's not coming overnight and [if] it was easier then everyone could do it."
Ten Hag likened the situation to Christian Eriksen's arrival.
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Eriksen, who often played further forward before his move to Old Trafford last summer, switched up his game to become more of a threat from deep.
The Dutch manager believes Mount has all the qualities to flourish in that same role.
"Christian Eriksen, last season, came in and had the same," he added. "First time in his life he played in a deeper role and that was the ambition from Christian and then also the ambition from Mason.
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"And so he wants to be more multifunctional. That's the way I see football, but as I say, it will not come overnight. There's a process we have to go through, but he’s very game-intelligent.
"He has the technical abilities, has also good vision on the ball. He knows how to deal with the ball. He has the dynamics, don't forget that. He has the mentality. So, all the ingredients are there to do it."
Thoughts on Mount's first-half performance against Crystal Palace on Tuesday night?
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Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: Getty - Sky Sports Premier League/TwitterTopics: Mason Mount, Manchester United, Crystal Palace, Carabao Cup
