Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount has hinted that his breakthrough at the club has been years in the making. The youngster has been ever-present for the Blues this season and has managed to establish himself as a first-team regular for the West Londoners.
As a product of the Blues youth development system, Abraham also has a special place in the heart of many of the club’s fans.
“I never saw myself as a prospect, it was always about playing as much football as I can.
“The two years out on loan were about trying to get experience and work as hard as I could to make sure when I came back I could give myself the best chance to get back to Chelsea and get in the team. That was my goal. The mentality side of football is massive,” said Mount to the Daily Mail.
“Coming through the academy and seeing so many brilliant footballers that I have played with since I was six being moved on and released and having to do something else with their lives was telling. They were technically unbelievable but just didn’t have that mentality side. When you are close or good friends, it’s tough. But my dad always said: ‘That’s football and these things happen. You just have to make sure it’s not you.’
“And he was right. You don’t want to be the boy leaving Chelsea, you want to train like every session is your last session because you know you always have to prove something to people.
“My dad drilled that into me at a young age that you don’t want to get released. You can’t let your foot off the pedal because if you do boys are coming in from overseas that are very talented and they will want to take your place.”
Frank Lampard has played a big role in elevating Mount
If it were not for Frank Lampard, Mount may have not got his chance with the Blues this season. The youngster was taken out on loan by Lampard last season whilst the latter was managing Derby County in the Championship. It was in the Championship where Mount got an opportunity to refine his skills whilst playing at a high level. He was ever-present for the Rams last season and helped them to the Championship promotion playoff final before they fell short at the last hurdle, losing the playoff final to Aston Villa.
Mount now faces a challenge to make the England Euro 2020 squad
After some promising early season form, Mount won his first international cap for England last September. However, his performance against Newcastle recently was not good and prompted some England fans to call up Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish to national team duty over Mount.
At 24-years-old, Grealish is a very mature player and he has led Villa with dynamism this season even though Dean Smith’s side find themselves locked in the relegation battle. If Grealish manages to prevent Villa from being relegated this season, it will be hard for Gareth Southgate to leave out the midfielder from his Euro 2020 squad. Similarly, if Mount manages to impress and lead Chelsea convincingly to a top four finish, it will be hard for the England boss to leave him out.
