Derby County have officially signed Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount on a season-long loan, with the talented youngster joining former Blues favourite and now Rams manager Frank Lampard at Pride Park.
Mount will also link up with Jody Morris, who has coached him at the Chelsea youth setup. Morris, who had left his coaching role at the Chelsea academy, arrived at Derbyshire last June to become Lampard’s assistant. It is believed that Morris’ arrival, along with Lampard’s connections at Chelsea, played a major influence in the 19-year-old’s decision to choose the Championship club as his temporary home for the upcoming season.
The highly-rated midfielder has attracted interest from a host of major clubs after exploding onto the scene with Vitesse Arnhem last season. He made 38 appearances in all competitions for the Dutch side, registering an impressive tally of 14 strikes while also contributing ten assists. His outstanding performances led to him being named as the club’s player of the year.
Moreover, Mount has performed well at international youth level. He played a major part in the success of the England U19s at the 2017 European Championships where he was named player of the tournament. Both club and country rate the teenager highly, with Gareth Southgate having invited him to train with the senior England squad prior to the World Cup.
Quizzed about what his targets are with the Championship club, Mount stressed his need to play more senior-team football to in order to continue his upward trajectory. “I need to continue playing games, getting as many minutes as I can, especially after the season I had,” said Mount. “I need to keep improving and that is by being on the pitch, that is the main thing.”
Mount joined Chelsea as a 6-year-old and quickly progressed through the academy system. At age 15, he made his debut for the club’s U-18 team, with which he won the FA Youth Cup, UEFA Youth Cup and the U18 Premier League title among other accolades.
