Keane loves ‘outstanding’ Manchester United target and called his critics idiots

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You don’t need us to tell you that Roy Keane is a man who tends to hand out compliments like Michael Bay produces Oscar winners.

So when the Manchester United legend took aim at the ‘idiots’ who doubted the talents of Chelsea and England midfielder Mason Mount, it would have been tempting to wonder if another, altogether more positively-minded pundit had plucked a hair or two out of the Irishman’s head before downing a pint of Polyjuice potion.

‘Who are you and what have you done with Roy Keane’?

Roy Keane is a huge Mason Mount fan

“Well, that is pretty important, that your manager likes you,” Keane told ITV Sport back in 2021, backing Gareth Southgate’s admiration for a player who – much to the chagrin of many armchair critics – continued to start ahead of Jack Grealish and Phil Foden for the Three Lions.

“(It) doesn’t matter what people outside the game think. There are a lot of idiots out there.

“(Mount) wants to be an all-round midfielder. I never hear anything negative about him off the pitch. He seems a brilliant young kid. He has gone out on loan he has done it the hard way.”

“I think he’s outstanding. He affects the game, he’s always involved. The beauty is he makes the game look easy. He’s always in control of the ball. Outstanding talent.”

Chelsea ace leaning towards Manchester United move

Such rave reviews have been in short supply over the last nine months or so, Mount – like many at Stamford Bridge – enduring a season to forget for a Chelsea side destined for a bottom-half finish.

Reports from The Mail and The Athletic suggesting that Manchester United are now preparing a £55 million bid for the 24-year-old on the back of his poorest season in Chelsea blue, therefore, have elicited perhaps more groans than gasps.

Mount, The Athletic add, is ‘leaning’ towards the Red Devils despite interest from Arsenal and Liverpool.

But what is it they say about the fleeting nature of ‘form’?

Mount, under the stewardship of Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford, could prove beyond all doubt that his ‘class’ is indeed permanent. 13 goals and 16 assists for Chelsea in 2021/22 alone is a tally Bruno Fernandes himself would be proud of; Mount combining the energy and aggression of Fred with the ingenuity and vision of Christian Eriksen.

And if Roy Keane is calling you an ‘outstanding talent’, then you know you’ve got something rather special.