Erik ten Hag decision over £55 million star raises major questions for Manchester United

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Manchester United faced an absolute must-win Champions League match this week and star summer signing Mason Mount was an afterthought.

You would think that in a game Manchester United had to win, the club’s top priority summer signing would be involved.

Mason Mount was instead left as a spectator from the substitute’s bench.

Not starting? OK. There are tactical decisions in every game which involve players being left out.

Not being used at all for a single minute? Now that’s peculiar.

Mason Mount overlooked

With Manchester United needing a goal at half-time amid a dour performance, it wasn’t Mason Mount who was called upon.

It was 31-year-old Christian Eriksen, the player many expected Mason Mount to replace.

Oddly, later in the half, Mount was not involved either. Alejandro Garnacho and Anthony Martial were both preferred as attacking substitutes.

Manchester United’s number 7

There surely will be big moments ahead for Mason Mount in his Manchester United career. Perhaps there will be one this weekend in the Manchester derby.

But if this scenario plays out again, with Mason Mount not playing a single minute against City, then there is reason to be concerned.

This is a player who Manchester United spent £55 million to sign this summer, 50 per cent of the club’s £110 million net spend in the window.

Was this a good use of funds? In the short-term, the answer looks to have been ‘no’, with Mount not considered as a regular starter or important enough to play in a must-win Champions League game.

Erik ten Hag wanted Mount, and the club backed him, and the manager will have to make this work.

It was not a great game played by United, so it may be prudent to get Mount involved more.

But the competition for places is only going to increase, with Casemiro due to return, along with Kobbie Mainoo, and Hannibal also pushing for minutes.

Mount was given Manchester United’s number seven shirt, and the big European tie against Copenhagen was a match where you would expect to see a player in that number roaming around the pitch, not sat on the bench.