Topics: Manchester United, Mason Mount, Erik Ten Hag, Transfers
Mason Mount is set to be confirmed as a new Manchester United player imminently - and manager Erik ten Hag already has first-hand experience of how good he is.
The 24-year-old England international has brought to an end an association with Chelsea that has lasted for 18 years, after he posted a goodbye message to the club's fans on Tuesday evening.
In the message, Mount told the fans how grateful he had been for their support during his entire career at the Blues, particularly during his spell in his senior squad.
The midfielder will move to United for a fee of £55 million, having entered the final year of his contract at Stamford Bridge.
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As a young player, prior to his breakthrough at Chelsea, Mount enjoyed loan spells at Eredivisie outfit Vitesse Arnhem and Championship side Derby.
Whilst it was the latter spell that essentially elevated him into a first team-ready Blues player, his experiences in the Netherlands also went a long way to improving his skills.
A typical destination for young Chelsea players at the time, Mount was joined by then-Blues team-mates Fankaty Dabo, Charlie Colkett and Matt Miazga, among others, during the 2017/18 campaign.
One of his adversaries was Ten Hag, then in charge of fellow Eredivisie side Utrecht. And it was in their first meeting when the Dutchman became alerted to Mount's talents.
The moment Erik ten Hag had to sign Mount
The two sides faced each other in October 2017, with Ten Hag's Utrecht the away side on that particular afternoon.
Despite ceding the lion's share of possession to the hosts, Utrecht did take the lead on 69 minutes with what proved to be their only shot on target, through Cyriel Dessers.
But Vitesse fought back - and it was Mount who did exactly that. The young midfielder came off the bench five minutes later before, via Manchester Evening News, scoring with his first touch from a cross to level the scores.
The game ended 1-1, and while the result was not particularly significant at the time - both sides qualified for the four-team play-off to decide which club qualified for European football for the next season - Utrecht may well have learnt lessons from that day.
They didn't have Ten Hag by the end of the campaign - he left in December 2017 for Ajax - but they did emerge victorious in the play-off final, beating none other than Vitesse to do so.
Mount and Ten Hag, after a battle last season between Chelsea and United, are set to reunite, and the Dutchman will hope his new midfielder can have a similar opening impact as in their first meeting nearly six years ago.
