The most recent signing due to drive through the barriers at Carrington next week might not be Mateo Mejia now.
The Manchester United reserve striker agreed to a contract extension this week after two goals in 15 appearances for the Under-21s last season. Mejia is a Colombia Under-20 international, so there is possibly some resale value.
Eyes will be kept peeled for another player with the initials MM on Birch Road. United seemed certain to go through June without a single new addition to their first-team squad until they agreed a £60million deal with Chelsea for Mason Mount on Thursday afternoon.
Mount, 24, is a Champions League and Club World Cup winner, one of 22 players to have started in a major final for England with a World Cup under his belt. He has been an accomplished performer in the Premier League over the last four years and suits Erik ten Hag's style.
Also read: United considering loaning Greenwood amid Ten Hag's reluctance to sell him
Mount may be unfashionable with some but he appeals to coaches as diverse as Ten Hag, Frank Lampard, Thomas Tuchel, Gareth Southgate and Graham Potter. Mount is the only departure the new Chelsea coach Mauricio Pochettino will rue.
It is inevitable the United media department will seize on Mount's attendance at Old Trafford as a nine-year-old in 2008. A boyhood Portsmouth fan, he was in the away end to witness Cristiano Ronaldo's physics-defying free-kick. As a junior at Chelsea, he confidently addressed the camera and said, "I try to place my free-kicks like Ronaldo."
Mount's arrival is timely ahead of United's first week of pre-season training. How ironic that Mount was not at Carrington for England's recent training sessions. Declan Rice and Harry Kane, both
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