The boyhood Blue has been on the books at Chelsea since the age of eight and, following successful loan spells at Vitesse and Derby County, was brought into the fold by Frank Lampard this summer…

Mason Mount: 41 appearances (10 as a sub), six goals, four assists

‘It doesn’t matter how old you are. If you show me in training that you are ready to play in games then I won’t hesitate to put you in.’

Those were the words of Lampard in pre-season as he addressed the younger members of his squad, urging them not to wait for an opportunity to be handed out on a plate but to make the opportunity for themselves.

Mount had previous with Lampard having worked with him at Derby County last season but this was a different challenge altogether – the Champions League not the Championship.

The jump might have overwhelmed others but Mount seems to have taken it in his stride. His combination of technical proficiency, desire and intelligence to lead the press from the front and a daily attitude to train as he plays that has been praised by Lampard has led him to become the only Chelsea ever-present in the Premier League.

He also has six league goals and you can vote for your favourite in the poll below.

Patience paying off

Born on the South Coast, Mount spent much of his childhood travelling up and down the A3 between his Portsmouth home and our Cobham training base, signing officially at the earliest age permitted for our Under-9s.

His father Tony, a former non-league manager, tried to convince him to consider other opportunities when he was offered a scholarship by the Blues in 2014 but the youngster was having none of it. ‘I’m not leaving Chelsea, it’s my club,’ was Mason’s response when his opportunities at breaking through in west London were questioned.

‘I’ve been here since the age of six and I’m going all the way,’ he said, and he has done just that. Constantly operating at an accelerated level of development, he captained our youngsters to FA Youth Cup glory and then went on loan to the Eredivisie at the age of 18, winning Vitesse’s Player of the Year award.

He had plenty of offers on the table in the summer of 2018 but the chance to work with Lampard and reunite with his former youth team boss Jody Morris at Pride Park was too tempting to turn down. It has turned out to be one of the most significant decisions of his young career so far.

Instant influence

Much of the summer debate around Chelsea centred on the young players and how much faith Lampard would place in them when the brutal reality of the competitive campaign finally begun. Those questions were answered when Mount lined up alongside Tammy Abraham at Old Trafford in August and, although we suffered an unfortunate defeat on that opening weekend of the league season, the influence of Mount at the heart of Lampard’s team had been set.

Since then, our number 19 has featured in every single league game, with only Cesar Azpilicueta clocking more than his 2,302 Premier League minutes. He scored the first goal of the Lampard era on his Stamford Bridge debut against Leicester City and then followed it up a week later as we recorded our maiden victory of the season away at Norwich City.

That led to the youngster’s England debut in September and such has been his success on the international stage, he has played in all six of the Euro 2020 qualifiers this season.

After starting the first 16 Premier League and Champions League games of the season, Mount found himself on the bench for our trip to Manchester City in late November and then again four days later in Valencia. As Lampard explained at the time, ‘It’s a nice problem to have. Mason has been so good for us but there will be areas of rotation.’

It coincided with a sticky part of the campaign for the team, including defeats to West Ham, Everton, Bournemouth and Southampton over the winter period. However, he has responded well to setbacks and recovered some of that early-season form, putting in a very impressive hour’s work in our most recent outing against the Toffees in March.

Set-piece specialist

Mount’s open-play impact has been matched by his effectiveness from set-pieces as he has become the Blues’ trusted source of free-kick and corner deliveries.

While he hasn’t yet managed to find the net directly from a set-piece, he did crash one against the crossbar against Liverpool in the FA Cup and all four of his league assists have come from set-pieces – teasing free-kicks swung in for Toni Rudiger’s brace at Leicester and Jorginho’s equaliser at Arsenal, as well as the second phase of a cleared corner for Christian Pulisic’s hat-trick goal away at Burnley in October.

Creating more from open play might be the next challenge but his haul of 10 goal contributions so far this season (six goals and four assists) is bettered only by Abraham and highlights an extremely positive start to life in the Chelsea senior side.

Mason Mount’s Premier League stats 2019/20

Mason Mount stats

Mason Mount Premier League appearances 2019/20

Mount has played in all 29 of our Premier League matches so far this season, making him Chelsea’s most-used player in the league.

Mason Mount Champions League appearances 2019/20

Mount has played seven times in the Champions League so far this season, making him an ever-present in European competition for the Blues.

Mason Mount FA Cup appearances 2019/20

Mount has featured in all three of our FA Cup games this season, starting against Hull City in round four and coming off the bench in victories over Nottingham Forest and Liverpool.

Mason Mount Carabao Cup appearances 2019/20

Mount played once in the Carabao Cup this season, as a substitute in our defeat to Manchester United.

Mason Mount goals 2019/20

Mount has scored six goals for Chelsea this season, all in the Premier League. He netted the first of the Frank Lampard managerial era in August against Leicester City, before finding the net again the following weekend in our first victory under the new boss. After a winner against Aston Villa in December, the midfielder opened the scoring in our most recent game at home to Everton.