"If you didn't know already...Mason Mount is indispensable for his club and country."

By Callum Castel-Nuovo

With 109 appearances for the Champions of Europe Chelsea, Mason Mount has become a main stay in the starting eleven. The 22-year-old has gained 17 goals and 14 assists for his club and is only just getting started.

Mount earned his stripes on loan with Vitesse during the 2017/18 season and again at Derby County during the 2018/19 season. Mount was managed by Frank Lampard at Derby County and impressed the manager enough to earn a place in the Chelsea senior squad for the first time as Lampard took the reins at the club.

Mount showed that he was technically gifted with an excellent right foot and displayed a strong work ethic at the club. However, the Chelsea midfielder was never one to grab the headlines.

With Mount attempting to win Chelsea fans over with Lampard's assistance, his Chelsea career was dropped into uncertainty upon Thomas Tuchel's arrival as manager. After consistent starts for Chelsea under Frank Lampard, Mount was benched for Tuchel's first game in charge. However, a 0-0 draw at home to Wolves was enough for the Chelsea manager to rectify his decision one game later. Mount rewarded his manager with important goals against Sheffield United, Southampton, Liverpool, FC Porto, and Real Madrid.

Although Mason Mount was not always one to grab the headlines, his inch perfect assist for Kai Havertz in Chelsea's 1-0 win over Manchester City to win the Champions League certainly grabbed the headlines. A portion of fans began to realise how important the midfielder was to the club while some argued against this.

It is a similar story for Mount with the international team. On September 7th, 2019, Mount earned his first England cap during a 4-0 win over Bulgaria in the Euros qualification group. He then scored his first goal for his country on November 11th, 2019, during a 4-0 win over Kosovo in the same competition.

The England midfielder continued to fight for a place in the starting lineup and was rewarded with a start in the first game of the Euros against Croatia. After looking sharp during the first game and earning a start in the second game against Scotland, Mount was forced to miss games against Czech Republic and Germany due to coronavirus implications.

Nevertheless, the attacking midfielder soon found his way back into the starting lineup and assisted Jordan Henderson's goal in England's 4-0 win over Ukraine in the quarter-finals.

Mount played his part in the semi-final win over Denmark and then started on the wing against Italy in the Euros final. This was met with frustration by the fans and Mount was eventually substituted off in the 99th minute before England lost the game on penalties.

With a mixed bag of views on Mason Mount, a quote on social media stated "Mount is the most average footballer to ever play for England" as the starting lineup was revealed prior to the World Cup qualifier against Hungary.

Through comparing Mason Mount's 2020/2021 Premier League season against his competition in the England squad; Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish, it is interesting to see how the Chelsea midfielder ranks against his fellow England internationals when basing the stats per 90 minutes. (Stats via FBref)

Mason Mount played the most amount of league minutes last season (2,890) compared to Sterling (2,536), Grealish (2,185) and Foden (1,616). The Chelsea player had the least number of goals (0.19) and assists (0.16) per 90 minutes, proving that Mount is not a player for the headlines and why his inclusion may frustrate fans. Despite this, Mount has the second highest expected assists (xA) of the four players with 0.24 per 90 minutes, which suggests that Chelsea players are not finding the back of the net from Mount's passing.

Mason Mount also completed the most passes (48.2) and has the second highest completion rate (82.3%) behind Sterling (85.4%). As well as this, the Chelsea midfielder completed more long passes (6.20) than Grealish (3.74), Foden (2.33) and Sterling (1.10). This shows that he is more than capable of progressing the ball further up the pitch when necessary. Mount is also the most accomplished corner taker of the four, giving his country more options.

The Chelsea player had more touches last season (71.4) than Foden (59.4), Grealish (58.6) and Sterling (52.4). Mounts dribble success rate is second (63.3%) just behind Grealish (65.6%) and he had the most ball carries (49.8) out of the four England internationals.

Although Mount is clearly gifted offensively with his distribution and control, he also has a lot to offer defensively. The Chelsea player completed more tackles (2.34) than Foden (1.44), Grealish (1.11) and Sterling (0.71) last season and covered the defensive, middle, and attacking third the most out of the four. Mount also completed the most presses (21.3), blocks (1.46) and interceptions (1.12) out of the four England players.

After England's 4-0 win over Hungary, a fan tweeted "If you didn't know already...Mason Mount is indispensable for his club and his country". With another assist to his name as well as key involvement in Harry Kane's goal, Mason Mount is proving that he is indispensable for his club and country.