Mason Mount: Carrick continues to deploy United No.7 in new role | OneFootball

Manchester United’s first game of pre-season may have ended in a 0-1 defeat to Wrexham on Saturday, but there were plenty of interesting changes that caught the eye.

Patrick Dorgu continued to play as a winger down the left rather than at full-back. With the future of Marcus Rashford still to be decided, it looks like the Dane will earn plenty of minutes in his new attacking role.

The most surprising tweak involved Leny Yoro playing as a right-back. With Noussair Mazraoui linked with a move to AC Milan, the Frenchman might just be Diogo Dalot’s backup in certain games if needed.

Michael Carrick also continued a trend he started at the end of the previous campaign: playing Mason Mount in a deeper role, alongside the defensive midfielder in a double pivot.

Mason Mount has a new role

It was Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo last season, and now, the former Chelsea ace lined up alongside new signing Andrey Santos.

Both dovetailed nicely, and there was good interplay between the duo at times. The head coach will be happy with what he saw from his No.7.

match stats via Sofascore

In 45 minutes, the Englishman recorded a passing accuracy of 90 per cent, with 35 of his 39 passes finding their intended target.

He had 47 touches of the ball and carried the ball forward on seven occasions. Both of his long-ball attempts also found their mark, while he did not succeed with his one crossing attempt.

Carrick will be pleased with Mason Mount

Off the ball, the 27-year-old was his usual energetic self, intercepting a through ball once, while recovering the ball back on two occasions.

He won all his ground duels but did not emerge victorious from his only tackle of the game (all stats from sofascore).

The 20-time English league champions kept the ball well enough, but there was not much attacking impetus in either half. Tougher challenges lie in wait for Mason Mount, and it will be intriguing to see how he fares then.

His performances in pre-season will dictate how many minutes he will earn once the real action starts as he is set to compete with Mainoo, Santos, and Youri Tielemans for a place in the starting XI.

Feature image George Wood via Getty Images

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