Man United manager Erik ten Hag ALREADY has a Mason Mount problem

Erik ten Hag has 99 problems and Mason Mount is an unexpected one. The Manchester United manager already knows about the goalkeeping situation, the Harry Maguire situation, the lack of depth in defensive midfield and striker, the struggles of his expensive wingers and their lifeless performance against Wolves.

What perhaps came as a surprise were the initial struggles of marquee summer signing Mason Mount.

In splashing out £60million on the England midfielder from Chelsea, Ten Hag felt he was getting a proven and experienced Premier League asset, one who would not need much time to adapt to the English top-flight, a signing he could 'plug and play'.

Though it's early days in his United career, his first two games have not gone to plan, with United's midfield overrun too easily and fears he is too similar to captain Bruno Fernandes.

Below, Mail Sport looks at Mount's situation and what Ten Hag can do to fix things.

What's gone wrong so far?

Despite already spending £164million this summer, the team is still enduring problems on the field.

Only Bournemouth, with 42, have faced more shots than United's 40 in their first two Premier League games - hardly an early sign of the solidity of new goalkeeper Andre Onana.

Saturday's 2-0 loss against Tottenham made it their ninth away defeat since manager Ten Hag arrived from Ajax last summer, outstripping the eight they have won away from home, with a goal difference of minus 13 across those 20 games.

After scraping past Wolves 1-0 on the first day of the season - with Onana extremely lucky to avoid conceding a late penalty after smashing into Sasa Kalajdzic, despite his and Ten Hag's hugely disingenuous claims to the contrary - the Spurs defeat was another poor performance.

This time, they got the spoils they deserved: nothing.

Onana, the full-backs and Casemiro escape with minor credit, but the spine of the team, the centre backs, central midfielders and front three, were poor.

Lisandro Martinez was rash and erratic, Marcus Rashford was a passenger up front and the struggles of wingers Antony and Alejandro Garnacho continued.

Like last season, defensive midfielder Casemiro looked isolated in a 4-1-4-1 formation as he attempted to break up waves of Tottenham attacks all by himself. 32 in February, the Brazilian veteran does not have the pace or mobility to do it all alone.

Spurs' dynamic midfield trio of Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr and James Maddison ripped through United's non-existent midfield over and over, and it is clear the current set-up, with Mount and Fernandes as No 8s, does not work. So where next?

Mount's partnership with Fernandes

What partnership, one might ask.

Don't get me wrong, Mason Mount is a very good player. One with a brilliant attitude, largely underrated technical skills and intangible attributes like versatility, determination and conscientiousness that make him highly valuable to managers.

That's why United spent the big bucks on him. He will adapt and he will get better, that's clear. What's not so clear is exactly what role United will put him in and whether it nwill allow him to fulfil his talents.

At the moment, he and Fernandes do not have the positional and tactical understanding or the closeness of relationship needed for a fully functioning, well oiled and smooth midfield machine.

To help Casemiro out and stop the likes of Sarr's multiple 50-yard barnstorming runs down the United middle, one or both of Mount and Fernandes will need to drop deeper at times.

But who, and when, and how, are questions that need to be answered.

Another bone of contention is their apparent similarity as players. Both are perhaps best as a central No 10 in a 4-2-3-1, or as a No 8 flanking Casemiro in a 4-3-3 but with license to roam and attack without too many defensive responsibilities.

All time in the Premier League, Mount and Fernandes rank similarly for shot conversion (10 per cent to 12.5 per cent), minutes per possession won (20 to 17) and dribble success rate (47.8 per cent to 51.1 per cent).

That suggests they are similarly clinical in converting chances, step into (and win) tackles at a similar rate and take on opponents with dribbles with similar success.

Mount would have been a nice Fernandes replacement. But why was he signed with Bruno still expecting the same role and influence in United's midfield when cover and competition for Casemiro was clearly the more pressing need?

And will Mount be able to play second fiddle to a player who is used to taking most of the attacking responsibility on himself and massively outstripped him in terms of attacking numbers last season?

Potential solutions for United

That's not to say the move was utterly pointless for United. Bruno was overworked last season and he cannot play every game again this year. Mount will deputise for him brilliantly in those cases.

He also offers a more mobile option to Christian Eriksen, 31, and is more capable in possession than Scottish destroyer Scott McTominay, who is evidently not fancied by Ten Hag despite the departure of Brazilian Fred.

Another option is one or both of Mount and Fernandes moving out wide. Both can play there, but whether they should is another matter.

Neither has the pace or instant one-on-one ability to beat a man like Marcus Rashford, Antony or Jadon Sancho, and Fernandes was almost completely neutralised by being shunted from the centre out to the right against Spurs.

Mount also has experience doing that for Chelsea, but that fails to get the most from him, as well as relegating Antony and Sancho - already low on confidence - further down the pecking order.

If one is to drop out, it's unlikely to be skipper Fernandes - leaving Ten Hag the prospect of simply leaving £60m man Mount on the bench. Not a great look.

Potentially, Eriksen holds the key. If he plays deeper alongside Casemiro - though that pairing is not the most mobile - the Brazilian would have more support, with both possessing the ability to progress the ball upfield.

Mount or Fernandes could then swap between the No 10 and right-sided attacking role, though that would mean Ten Hag largely dropping last summer's big signing Antony, or using him off the bench as an impact substitute.

A 4-1-2-1-2 'box' or 'diamond' formation with Casemiro deepest and Mount, Fernandes and one of Eriksen or McTominay could release the shackles on the pair, with Rashford potentially used in a withdrawn, left-sided forward role behind central striker Rasmus Hojlund.

There are plenty of options for Ten Hag as he looks to solve his latest puzzle - but he needs to fix things, and fast.