Erik Ten Hag is making a real effort to integrate him into the team, but it doesn’t seem to be working right now, and we can’t jeopardise our chances of qualifying for the Champions League once more. Alex Ferguson warned Ten Hag not to hold onto the £70 million Manchester United star just yet, as he may ruin the Champions League spot once more this year.

Despite several difficulties, Manchester United began the 2024–25 Premier League season with three points thanks to a late goal from rookie Joshua Zirkzee against Fulham.

The former Bologna forward, who signed a £36.5 million contract in July, scored in the 87th minute after guiding Alejandro Garnacho’s cross into the goal. The Old Trafford hosts’ test match saw little of the expected control and fluidity.

With almost 97% of the season remaining, United is now leading the league table. Despite this, there are plenty of reasons for excitement. But not everyone lived up to the mark, with Mason Mount particularly lacking.

The way Mason Mount played against Fulham
Mount, who cost £55 million to sign when he left Chelsea in the summer of 2023, had a terrible 2023–24 season, making just five starts in the top flight due to a mountain of injuries.

After contributing to the Red Devils’ Community Shield defeat to Manchester City last week for just under an hour, the England international was granted another starting position.

Journalist Joe Lyons said of Mount’s struggles in the Premier League curtain-raiser that he “has to be up there with the poorest and most mind-boggling signings post-Fergie,” struggling to seize the moment and playing off the flow of the game before becoming hooked near the hour mark.

Although Mount did shown flashes of the talent that made United pay a high price to get him, there is still much work to be done after he missed an incredible opportunity in the second half and did not give the full performance that was so frequently displayed at Stamford Bridge when he was at his best.

It’s unfair to place all the blame on one player, who showed flashes of brilliance and will likely grow into the role as the season goes on, but the £250k-per-week talent needs to improve because he hasn’t exactly established himself as a sure starter.

Marcus Rashford hasn’t either, really.

It’s all Marcus Rashford has to prove.
Rashford was at his brilliant best during the 2022–2023 season, Ten Hag’s first as manager. He racked up 30 goals and ten assists in all competitions, earning the manager’s nickname of “unstoppable.”

An even darker story of inconsistency and anonymity was told in the previous season. In the league, Rashford only managed seven goals and only gave half of his previous performance.

He just has to regain his all-encompassing offensive prowess that had the United supporters in a state of excitement practically every week. Against the tenacious Cottagers, he failed his audition.

Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News echoed an undercurrent of dissatisfaction for a star who has much to prove this year, even though his post-match remarks weren’t particularly critical.

Giving Rashford a five-star rating for the match, he wrote: “Much possession of the ball in the first half, but not really dangerous. unintentionally played in Mount, who missed the close-range attempt.