Super agent Rob Segal has suggested that Mason Mount may not have been given a chance at the club if it wasn’t for Frank Lampard.
Mount spent some time on loan at Derby County, when Frank Lampard was in charge, and the former Chelsea manager was happy to give him first-team opportunities when he got the job at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea shipped him out on loan and allowed Lampard to utilise him at Derby, where he thrived. However, many players at Chelsea are sent out on loan and never seen in a Chelsea shirt, but Lampard was willing to give him a chance at the club.
“If you look at Mason Mount – he went out on loan to Derby County and had a great season there. But every player on Chelsea’s books at that level is a good player so then the manager of Derby County comes back to Chelsea and of course, he had a season’s worth of knowledge and takes Mount back to London with him and plays him. But it makes me wonder if Frank Lampard hadn’t gone back to Chelsea would Mount had got his chance?” Said Segal, speaking exclusively to Caught Offside.
Usually, if a player is good enough he will eventually find his way into the first team, but Chelsea are known for letting players go and not giving them a chance. The two most obvious cases are Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne, who are now regarded as two of the best players in Europe.
Both players were sent out on loan before being sold, and it’s likely to be a huge regret from the club.
“Let’s say Gallagher had gone to Derby County instead and had a good season there which undoubtedly he would have done, Lampard then goes back to Chelsea, Gallagher probably would have been given the chance and probably would have played on Sunday but for Chelsea,” added Segal.
Segal was disappointed to see Chelsea not allow Conor Gallagher to play against them in the FA Cup (via Caught Offside).
If Gallagher had been given the chance to express himself at Chelsea, just like Mount, then there may not have been any argument for Gallagher to play in the semi-final. As Segal mentioned, had Lampard been in charge, Gallagher may be a first-team player as it stands, and Chelsea fans will be hoping the club doesn’t make the same mistakes they did with De Bruyne and Salah.