Mason Mount has continued to kick on during his first full season playing under Thomas Tuchel, and he has thanked the manager for his role in it all.
Mount was one of the Chelsea academy talents ushered into the first team by Frank Lampard, and while other Lampard favourites have moved on he remains an integral part of the Blues' first team.
The 22-year-old's goal against Leeds United on Saturday was his sixth in the league this season in just 13 appearances, meaning he needs just two more to post his highest ever tally in a Premier League campaign.
And despite thriving under the Blues' previous manager at Chelsea and Derby County, he was full of praise for Tuchel for his role this term.
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“He’s been massive for me, to come in halfway through a season and do what he did last year, to win the Champions League and develop us all as players and as a group, he’s been brilliant since the first day he’s come in,” said Mount, speaking at an event to celebrate the new Call of Duty: Warzone Pacific map.
Six of Mount's nine goals last season came after Tuchel's appointment in January, including a clincher against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals.
“For me personally he’s helped me on and off the ball, he’s helped me with confidence," the midfielder continued, heaping praise on the former Paris Saint-Germain boss.
“And the way I like to play is very similar to his way he sets up and how he wants us to play.
“So I’m loving it, I’m loving every moment and hopefully we can keep winning things.”
Mount also hailed Chelsea’s “family” atmosphere as the stimulus to the Stamford Bridge club’s Premier League title drive.
The England international believes Chelsea’s mix of homegrown and stellar overseas talents have gelled into a group of close-knit friends with the emotional ties to push for top honours.
Mount heads a cast list of six academy graduates who can confidently boast mainstay status at Stamford Bridge this season.
The 2021 Champions League winners have made no secret of their desire to press for Premier League glory, and Mount paid tribute to the upbeat mood in the west London camp.
“There are a lot of players coming through from the academy at the moment, and we’ve known each other since we were six, seven, eight years old,” said Mount.
“We’re very close friends on and off the pitch. We’ve known each other a very long time and that helps when you have that close bond.
“Along with the other boys as well, we’re definitely like a family; the team is very close together.
“And I think that’s what you need if you want to go far in competitions, if you want to win big things and win the Premier League, and obviously that’s our next goal.”
