Chelsea legend Alan Hudson believes that Mason Mount has a bright future at the club – but has some concerns over his continued use.
Mount is just 22-years-old, but has established himself as a key figure both for Chelsea and England. He was a favourite of former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard, and if recent performances are anything to go by, he could be taken to another level by the newly-appointed Thomas Tuchel.
Mount followed up a man of the match performance against Tottenham with a goal in the win over Sheffield United. A player with Chelsea in his DNA, he looks certain to play a starring role in the future of the club, which is looking bright with him, and other fellow academy products, in the side.
MORE: Video: Mason Mount fires Chelsea ahead vs Sheffield United with brilliant first-time finish on his weaker foot
However, it’s easy to get carried away with players of his tender age and forget that players without years of experience under their belt require different treatment to those that do. Mount, for now, is still relatively inexperienced at this level of the game.
Lampard’s strategy was to find a space for Mount in every lineup, with the midfielder being his most used player during his tenure, but speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside, Chelsea legend Alan Hudson has revealed he had concerns over Lampard’s continual usage of him:
Pep Guardiola has previously been criticised for his sporadic use of Phil Foden, but the youngster’s coming of age this campaign suggests that the Spaniard’s plan for his development has actually played out perfectly.
Hudson is keen for Tuchel to replicate that with Mount, rather than running him into the ground.
There is also the argument that Mount needs to find a definitive position and develop into that role. Being a utility man will do you favours early in your career in terms of getting game-time, but it can also prove to be a curse later down the line when a manager finds himself asking – “what is he?”
That’s another concern of Hudson’s, who suggests that Mount needs to be fielded in the middle of the park alongside the esteemed N’Golo Kante.
“He seems to be ‘The Everywhere Man’ at the moment and that’s no good at all”, Hudson explained, speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside. He must conserve his energy more, although he has energy to waste, I watch him and I’m tired.”
“I see him as the man alongside Kante in the middle of the field, with Kante doing the work he does best and Mount conserving energy and using this energy in short bursts going forward. All that running around is not helping the creative side of his game which is a must in any team.”
“If I were his manager I would have told him to base his game on David Silva at Manchester City, although Silva looked like he was everywhere he was mostly creating. He and Kante should be the central cog in this team, both have great engines and both very good football brains and technique.”
There’s no doubting that Mount is a talented player, and Hudson would be the first to acknowledge that, but he does stress the need for a change in strategy when it comes to ensuring he continues riding this upward gradient.
Thankfully for Chelsea and England, they have a manager at the helm who has a track record of developing young players, so it’s safe to say that he’s in good hands.