When it comes to Chelsea managers, Mason Mount will always be associated with Frank Lampard. He was the coach who gave Mount his first chance in English football, and also the man who brought him to Chelsea to give him a chance in the top flight for his boyhood club.
But since Lampard’s sacking a year ago, Mount has made huge strides working with Thomas Tuchel, and won his first major trophy with the German.
A year since Tuchel’s arrival, the Chelsea website interviewed Mason to find out what he had learned from his latest manager.
“This season over the last few I’ve probably played a little bit higher than I was used to – playing as a kind of forward 10, or sometimes a winger or a false 9. So I’ve had to adapt a bit but that gives me more opportunity to get into the box and have the opportunities to score and create.
“So far this season that’s been a big focus of mine, to improve that and to put pressure on myself to be someone who wants to go forward and step up and score goals and create assists. That’s definitely something that’s improved over the time he’s been here.”
It’s funny to remember the panic when Tuchel left Mount out of the team for his first game in charge. People were desperate to read into it as a sign that the new manager wasn’t a fan, but it was just a much needed rest.
As we’ve seen since, there was no way that Mount was ever going to be anything other than a key player, no matter who was in charge.
