Jack Grealish appeared to shine when England beat Wales in a friendly match, 9 October 2020. The Aston Villa captain scored an assist and appeared as man of the match in the match which England won 3-0. Grealish’s neat performance made him favorites to fill in the best eleven when The Three Lions hosted Belgium in the UEFA Nations League two days later.
However, Gareth Southgate seems to have a different idea. The 50-year-old coach chose to field Mason Mount in a 3-4-2-1 formation. Together with Marcus Rashford, Mount was assigned to support Harry Kane as the main striker.
Southgate’s choice was flooded with criticism, especially from Aston Villa fans. Southgate is seen as choosing Mount not for performance or tactical reasons, but out of favoritism. The issue of Mount’s favoritism returned.
Since being promoted to Chelsea’s main squad, the progress of the 2017 U-19 Euro Player of the Year has indeed been beset by the issue of favoritism. In the midfield for the Blues, he is Frank Lampard’s “golden boy”. Even in the England national team, he plays regularly, so far he has earned 11 caps.
However, is it true that Mount gets more playing time just because the manager likes him? When facing Belgium, at least, this 21-year-old midfielder immediately broke this assumption. Mount scored England’s winning goal against Belgium, as well as turning the competition to the finals in Group 2 of the UEFA Nations League League.
Responding to the criticism leveled at Mount, Southgate emphasized that the Chelsea academy graduate was simply “underappreciated”. According to him, Mount has all the required attributes and is willing to work hard for the team’s victory.
“I read a lot of things about Mason and I think he is a player who is very underappreciated – but not by us,” said Southgate after beating Belgium. Declan Rice, a childhood friend with Mount at the Chelsea academy, also defended the number 19 midfielder.
“I think if you give every Premier League manager the chance to choose him, they will choose him too, because if you know him on a daily basis – what he gives to the team as an individual, [you would assume] he is a top talent. So I think the criticism [of Mount] is very harsh, “said Rice.
Mount is not a player that promises a lot of stylish video clips. Compared to Grealish, if measured by goals / assists, his role is also not that significant at club level. Grealish has scored four goals and six assists in seven games to give the Villans an impressive start to the season. Meanwhile, Mount “only” scored one goal and two assists in seven games with Chelsea.
However, on the more subtle aspects of the match, Mount’s significant role is immediately apparent. In the Premier League, Mount is a creative player with an equally good defensive contribution. He has been involved in 18 shooting stunts, the third most in the Chelsea squad. Mount was also the player with the most tackles (20) and pressing (139), ahead only of N’Golo Kante (25 tackles, 155 presses).
On top of that, Mount exhibits a work ethic and a desire to learn that has impressed both Lampard and Southgate. As reported by The Athletic, when Chelsea held a physical test, Mount was always at the top of the list of the most fit players with Kante.
“One of the reasons Lampard likes Mount is the way he trains every day, as if it is his last. He has the ambition to be one of the best. “When the club is spending a lot in the transfer market, he reacts positively and makes it clear that he wants to fight for his place,” one Chelsea staff member told The Athletic.
Mount’s ability and mentality are two main factors why managers “favor him”. It’s no wonder Lampard has given him the sixth most minutes played at Chelsea this season. Mount’s playing minutes (540 minutes) were only ahead of Reece James, Kai Havertz, Kurt Zouma; and Timo Werner and N’Golo Kante who played one more game.
Meanwhile, in the England national team, Mount’s defensive contribution and creativity play an important role in the stable midfield that Southgate is expecting. When visiting Belgium, 16 November, Southgate is predicted to return to install Mount with Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson. Southgate can count on these three players as the trident that holds back the aggressiveness of the Belgian players.
Mount’s contribution is again proved during his team’s win against Newcastle last week. It will be interesting to see how he will contribute this season to Chelsea’s line up.
ASL
