Chelsea: Mason Mount is the next Mr. Reliable
by Ishan Shah
Mason Mount is among the group of Chelsea youngsters who have greatly benefitted from their transfer ban as it gave him some much needed time off.
Mount’s has had a breakthrough season at Chelsea, scoring six goals and playing a hand in five other scoring plays. Despite beginning the season as a 20-year-old, Mount has been one of Chelsea’s most important players this year.
Throughout the season, Mount has displayed immense versatility by playing in a three-man midfield, lining up on the wing, starring as a No. 10 and featuring as an inside forward when Chelsea has played a back-three. However, as much as people think his versatility is his biggest strength, it is actually his durability that makes him vital to Chelsea.
In his first year with the senior team, Mount has appeared in every single fixture Chelsea has played across all competitions, but one. He missed the Blues’ 7-1 victory against Grimsby, but was named to the bench. He has made 41 appearances this season, which is the most by a Chelsea player, even surpassing club captain and current Mr. Reliable—Cesar Azpilicueta.
Azpilicueta has long been regarded as Chelsea’s most durable player, missing just four Premier League games since the beginning of the 2015/16 season. Although he has played the most minutes in the Premier League this season—playing in 92.7 percent of the minutes—it looks like Mount (88.2 percent) has taken over his title of being Chelsea’s most durable player due to his impressive workload.
The most important contribution Mount has made to the team is his off-ball movement and ability to constantly apply pressure on the opponent. He is often tasked with leading the team’s press up front, and has shown great desire to win the ball back for Chelsea on several occasions.
Successful pressures are defined as the number of times a team wins the ball back within five seconds of a player applying pressure on the opponent. In the Premier League, Mount has applied pressure a staggering 601 times, and has been successful on 167 occasions, both numbers being the most by any Chelsea player this season.
To understand how Mount is able to keep up his fitness, we must take a look into his childhood. In an interview with Chelsea TV, Mount’s father—Tony—recalls several occasions where he would encourage him to miss training and instead go out to parties or for a sleepover with friends because of how much time he was dedicating to training. However, Mount always declined this request because he did not want anything to distract him from his goal of one day playing for Chelsea.
All of his hard work over the years is finally beginning to bear fruit. Despite suffering a couple of injuries, most notably an ankle injury suffered against Valencia in his first ever Champions League appearance, Mount has always been available for his manager. People can really underestimate the mental strength it takes to play so many games at the highest level, not to mention the added travel that comes with playing in the Champions League.
Being a 21-year-old playing continuously in Europe’s most physically demanding league inherently comes with dips in form. As stated before, Mount has been asked by Lampard to play in several different positions this season. This means he has had to evolve his game and understand the several different aspects that come with each positional switch. However, through all his inconsistencies, he has consistently worked hard to help his team reach the position they are in now.
Do you think Mount is Chelsea’s most durable player at the moment? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!