'Going to reach the absolute top' - inside Manchester United signing Mason Mount's year at Vitesse that impressed Erik ten Hag
New Man Utd recruit Mason Mount made his first impact in professional football during a loan spell at Dutch side Vitesse - right under Erik ten Hag's nose
There were big hopes for Mason Mount when he joined Vitesse on loan from Chelsea in 2017.
Fresh from registering two assists for both England's goals in the final victory against Portugal as England U19s won the European Championships, where he was crowned player of the tournament, Mount was off to the Netherlands. The Blues' graduate was highly thought of within the club, having won the Academy Player of the Year the season prior, and the hope was that a loan move would accelerate his already impressive development.
Less than 10 days after that final with England U19s, the then 18-year-old signed a new four-year contract with Chelsea before being shipped off to Dutch side Vitesse on loan for a season. "Vitesse feels like me the next step in my career," Mount told the club's website upon arrival. "Vitesse gave me a good feeling when discussing [the move]. I also talked to other players like Lewis Baker and Mukhtar Ali, who were all positive about the club."
The Dutch outfit's technical director Mo Allach described his new signing as 'a promising midfielder with a variety of qualities', although in reality Mount had yet to prove just how good he could be at senior level. "It's an opportunity and a challenge for me," Mount added. "And I want to take that challenge."
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Things got off to a slow start for Mount, as he was named as an unused substitute in their first game - the Johan Cruyff Shield match against Feyenoord which Vitesse lost on penalties. Two more games came and went before Mount finally got a chance to impress - coming on in the 77th minute during a home match against AZ Alkmaar with the score tied at 1-1.
Three minutes after Mount came off the bench, Wout Weghorst would net his second of the game and the eventual winner. The midfielder struggled to get meaningful minutes under his belt for a while, but it would be in front of now Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag that he'd make his first real impact in Holland.
Ten Hag's Utrecht held a 1-0 lead over Vitesse during an away game on October 1, 2017. With Vitesse chasing an equaliser, Mount came on in the 74th minute and slid home a goal for his side just minutes later with his first touch from Thomas Bruns' cross.
Finally, Mount had lift off. After a frustrating first few months in Holland, he was starting to win his manager round.
Mount told ESPN documentary Missing Mount last year: "I think I'd be lying to myself if I thought I would go from Chelsea U23s to go straight to starting. I hoped that would happen, I was ready to work hard, I was ready for the challenge, but in my head I thought I'm going to have to show and prove I'm ready.
"The manager knew who I was but probably didn't know much about me, none of the players knew anything about me and it takes time to build those bonds with players on the pitch, how you play, how they understand what you like to do on the ball and off the ball. And same with the manager, I had to prove to him that I was ready, that I had enough experience and he could trust me. It did take a few months to do that. In that period I was very frustrated at times because I felt like I could play, I could start, I was ready. But maybe that was the young-minded person I was at the time."
It was with Bruns, who provided the assist for his first goal, that Mount had to tussle with for a regular starting place. It wasn't until late November that Mount looked to be coming out on top in that battle as he began starting more games on the pitch rather than from the bench.
Nevertheless, Bruns ultimately understood why he had to settle for a back-up role. He later told NOS [via Goal]: "The way in which Mason, for example, could put a ball behind the opponent's defence exactly in the path of a fellow player. It seems simple, but it is not. With actions like that, he distinguished himself from the rest.
"At that time it was, of course, disappointing, but not entirely illogical in view of his development. He almost always came up with something brilliant and gradually made his mark on Vitesse."
With Mount now a key part of the team, Vitesse found real consistency and would push for Europe. Mount excelled, finding the net 14 times in total as well as laying on 10 assists for teammates.
Vitesse would eventually qualify for the Europa League through the play-offs. In their first two-legged fixture, Vitesse faced ADO Den Haag.
In the first leg Mount showed he was a man for the big occasion with his first-ever senior hat trick. A 5-2 win at home followed by a 2-1 victory away from home lined up a final against Utrecht, although now Ten Hag had since departed to take charge at Ajax.
Mount scored in the first game, a 3-2 win at home, but a booking meant he missed the second leg. Thankfully, his teammates saw the side over the line with a 2-1 win.
Mount's performances in the Netherlands saw him named in the Eredivisie Team of the Year and Vitesse's Player of the Year and the midfielder himself credits the loan spell for his successful breakthrough back at Stamford Bridge.
"Vitesse was a brilliant decision and a brilliant loan. To go out and learn about a different kind of football. It’s different playing out there. I had to grow up so I learned a lot while I was out there," he told The Independent in 2020.
"I am so grateful for what they did and for the player I have become now. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea. It won’t suit everyone to go abroad at such a young age. I chose it. I was dedicated and focused out there. It was definitely right for me but for others it might not be. It really set me up to develop for the next season at Derby."
The impact Mount made during his time in the Netherlands led to hopes surrounding his potential rising. Mount certainly caught Ten Hag's attention as Ajax tried to bring him back to the Netherlands on loan the following summer - before he opted to play for Frank Lampard at Derby.
Mount impressed so much that Vitesse teammate Mitchell van Bergen made a huge prediction about his future. He said: "Mason is going to reach the absolute top. In the Premier League, he will be a complete player and I see him eventually ending up at Barcelona or Real Madrid. I think he will fit there."
If he can make the sort of impact he did at Vitesse during his time at Old Trafford, United fans will be hoping he sticks around.
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