Mason Mount says Chelsea’s form is showing how young players like himself are being picked on merit and not just because of their age.
After being placed in charge this summer, Frank Lampard has undergone a revolution at Stamford Bridge by placing his trust in youngsters from the club’s academy.
The likes of Mount have been given a chance to shine and on Saturday against Crystal Palace the Blues’ starting side was the club’s youngest ever in Premier League history.
It is a policy that is clearly working for Lampard as Chelsea won 2-0, thanks to goals from Tammy Abraham and Christian Pulisic, with the three points putting them third in the table.
And Mount, 20, believes the form of Chelsea, who have now won six League games on the spin for the first time since their title-winning season of 2016/17, shows how players are being picked on merit and not just because they are young.
“With all of us young boys, he (Lampard) has given us the chance to step up and prove that we are ready,” said the midfielder. “To me, Tammy [Abraham], Fikayo [Tomori], Reece [James], you’re not [just] given it, you have to show you’re ready. When the day comes that you’re given the chance to play at Stamford Bridge, you have to show you’re ready to step up.
“At the start of the season we knew what we had in the squad. We knew the quality. We knew the young players coming through would make the step up.
“It probably starts from when the gaffer first came in. He set goals to be at the top of the League. We knew a lot of people were undermining us because of the ban, so we knew the pressure would be off us a bit. We knew we had the quality, so we set the goals of being up at the top of the table. That was our target.”
The latest youngster to join Mount in the first team is 19-year-old right-back James, who made his first League start on Saturday. Like those before him, the teenager showed no signs of nerves and he impressed against Palace by keeping Wilfried Zaha quiet all afternoon.
Lampard was full of praise for James after, insisting he can go “very, very far”, and Mount has backed his fellow academy graduate to seize his chance.
“He always works hard and will be a brilliant player for us. He has tremendous qualities and will be a great player now and in the future,” said Mount. “You don’t want to get too close to him in training because he will get you off the ball.”
