A hush rippled around Old Trafford as Cristiano Ronaldo lined up a free-kick 25 yards out from Portsmouth’s goal.

Mason Mount, a few weeks after his ninth birthday, was one of the 75,000 in the crowd that watched on in awe as Ronaldo battered the ball beyond David James’ dive. Mount had travelled to the Theatre of Dreams as a Portsmouth fan but was so swept up by the spectacle that he came away from the 2-0 loss inspired to become a footballer.

Mount had already been training with Chelsea for five years by 2008 and would work his way into the senior side by the end of the next decade. Despite consistently winning the admiration of the carousel of Chelsea coaches, the academy poster boy is on his way back to Old Trafford on a permanent basis.

Following his £55m move to Manchester United, Mount will face Chelsea for the first time in his senior career next season. Here’s when that poignant reunion will happen.

6 December 2023 – Man Utd v Chelsea (Premier League)

Fittingly, Mount made his Premier League debut for Chelsea against Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2019. Afforded a free role in Frank Lampard’s youthful side, Mount and many of his teammates played much better than the 4-0 scoreline in favour of the hosts suggests. Kepa Arrizabalaga conceded all four shots on target after the seventh minute.

The year before, Mount made his first appearance at Old Trafford for Lampard’s Derby County in the Carabao Cup third round. Despite being the youngest Derby player on the pitch at the time, Mount stepped up to take the first penalty in the shootout. Just like the rest of his teammates, he scored to spark a famous upset.

3 April 2024 – Chelsea v Man Utd (Premier League)

Since Mount’s senior debut for Chelsea in 2019, no player has featured more often or scored more goals at Stamford Bridge. At the start of the 2021/22 campaign, the west London fanbase honoured their academy product with a banner sprawling across the width of the lower tier. Alongside a picture of Mount holding the Champions League trophy – it was his pass that teed up Kai Havertz for the only goal of the final – it read: “Mason Mount: The boy who had a dream”.

The rows of material won’t be there when Mount and United travel to Stamford Bridge at the start of April.

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Mount may have been on Chelsea’s books for the best part of two decades but he has only been a fixture of the first team for four seasons. However, he made the most of that brief window.

The 2022/23 campaign was Mount’s first senior season in London which didn’t end with some form of individual recognition. Chelsea’s two-time Player of the Season missed 13 games with a nagging pelvis complaint last term having sat out just five matches through injury across the previous three years.

When fit and healthy, Mount emerged as one of the most consistent attacking threats, capable of scoring and creating, in a Chelsea team that has never been particularly prolific – over the last four seasons, recently-relegated Leicester City have scored more Premier League goals than the Blues.

In Thomas Tuchel’s only full season in charge of Chelsea, the 2021/22 campaign, Mount hit double digits for Premier League goals and assists – becoming the first player to achieve that feat for the club since Eden Hazard.

While the Blues added a Club World Cup to their Champions League title that season, the campaign was soured by a pair of defeats to Liverpool in both domestic cup finals. Mount has never won one of England’s cup competitions, losing three consecutive FA Cup finals between 2020 and 2022.

Despite building this impressive body of work, Mount was criminally under-compensated (in the realms of football finance) by Chelsea’s hierarchy. Last season, only three outfield players at the club earned less than Mount. The 24-year-old’s reported salary of £80,000 a week is thought to be four times smaller than top earner Raheem Sterling.

The boy who had a dream has had to return to the birthplace of that burning ambition to earn what he feels he deserves.

WATCH NOW

On this edition of The Promised Land, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders and Rob Blanchette discuss Man Utd’s decision to remove a contract offer for David de Gea and replace it with inferior terms. If you can’t see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!

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