Mason Mount has arguably been the player to profit most from Frank Lampard’s appointment as Chelsea boss.
After an impressive loan spell with Derby County in 2018/19, Lampard handed the England midfielder a key role in his Stamford Bridge revolution.
During his first campaign in charge, Mount played in all but one Premier League game, despite coming in for some criticism from supporters.
Back in January, it was revealed that Chelsea legend John Terry had been keeping in close contact with Mount, despite his position as Aston Villa’s assistant manager.
Mount has been handed a similarly pivotal role in the early weeks this time around, but was restricted to a cameo during the 4-0 Champions League win over Krasnodar.
He came on in the second half in Russia, helping the Blues to an impressive victory, playing in front of fans in a competitive fixture for the first time since March.
At the time of his arrival, Chelsea had laboured to a 1-0 lead, but a tactical switch that saw Mount join N’Golo Kante and Kai Havertz in a midfield three, saw a much more fluid closing spell.
Following the win, Mount posted on social media: “Back to some normality playing in front of fans tonight, thanks for your support!”
And Terry was quick to reply, heaping praise on the Chelsea academy graduate: “You are a top, top player already in your young career mate. Chelsea through and through.”
Chelsea face Burnley at Turf Moor this weekend and Lampard hinted that the midfield trio could be set to stay. Asked about whether the change in shape could be a long-term one, he told Football.London: “Yes, it is something that has served us well at times last year.
“It is nothing new, there were times when we played three at the back and 4-2-3-1 but of course when you bring new players into the club. It is great to have players with versatility in their game and I love that.
“Three at the back versus Man United made us more solid,” Lampard added. “The 4-3-3 against Krasnodar helped us find different angles and press higher up the pitch so there are things that gave me a lot of answer that I had questions on. There were a lot of positive to it.”
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