The English tax is always extremely expensive, but these transfers will be worth it. Both Arsenal and Man United made huge English transfers as they picked up Delcan Rice and Mason Mount, respectively, to bolster their rather bare midfields.
These moves may not make either side title contenders on their own, but it makes their midfields a whole hell of a lot better.
Arsenal and Manchester United have broken open the bank and splashed serious cash on their midfields as the Gunners picked up Declan Rice from West Ham and the Red Devils bought Mason Mount from Chelsea. And, even though these two transfers accounted for £165M, I think these are two great signings for both teams.
Starting with Arsenal, this is obviously a fantastic signing for the Gunners as even though Rice is the club’s record signing at £105M despite posting just 5 goals and 6 assists in 49 starts last season, he’s one of the most versatile and refined midfielders in all of England.
The only reason why Rice, who is just as capable creating chances and scoring as he is defending and shutting down the midfield, had substandard stats last season is due to West Ham’s extreme-defensive football tactics and challenges around the relegation zone for much of the season. But, if you watched West Ham in the Europa Conference League as the Hammers went on to win the competition, you’d know that Rice can do anything in the midfield that is asked of him.
And that’s exactly what Arsenal need as even though they had their best season in the last 7 years and nearly won the title, the biggest reason why they eventually fell behind City is due to their lack of midfield depth.
For the vast majority of the season, Mikel Arteta was forced to overplay Martin Odegard, Thomas Partey, and Granit Xhaka in the midfield for all of Arsenal’s games in the Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup, and Carabo Cup, which obviously caused fatigue and injury to overtake the squad during the final stretch of the season.
So, with the additions of Rice and Kai Havertz from Chelsea, the Arsenal midfield have two competent, European Cup-winning midfielders who can attack, defend (well, really on Rice can defend), and provide cover for the Gunners’ demanding season.
As for Man United, the £60M transfer of Mason Mount from Chelsea pretty much fits the same criteria I laid out for Arsenal’s transfer of Rice.
Just like Arsenal, the decline of Manchester United during the final 2-3 months of the season comes down to the sole factor of tiredness and fatigue as the United midfield trip of Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, and Christian Eriksen wore down and fell apart under the pressure of four competitions.
So, bringing in a guy like Mount, who is only 26, has won FIFA Club World Cups, UEFA Supercups, Champions Leagues, has competed at the highest level for Chelsea, and can be a devastating attacking force from the midfield, is an extremely wise move to relieve the pressure put on Eriksen and Fernandes. Instead of playing each player 45-50 games per season, now Man United can sit Bruno or Eriksen from a Premier League or FA Cup game and replace them with Mount.
Now, the £60M price tag is a tad bit expensive for a guy who only played in 24 Premier League matches, scored 3 goals, and registered 2 assists in 35 games, yet I really don’t think last season’s Mount is the player Mason Mount truly is.
Chelsea’s offensive woes were some of the worst I’ve ever seen from a Premier League side in recent history, while Mount managed to score 27 goals and compile 22 assists in his four prior years at Chelsea and score double digit Premier League goals and assists in the 2021/22 season.
I think Mount is a guy who can post 8-15 goals and nearly as many assists a season from the midfield, and that’s exactly what Man United need.
The English tax is most certainly real as these players’ transfer prices should be 20%-25% less, but that’s the world of football we live in today. And these moves dramatically improve Manchester United and Arsenal’s midfields.
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