The Chelsea fans in the Transfer Tavern are desperate to see at least one academy product break into the first-team next season, and one player who could potentially break through is Mason Mount.
The likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Charly Musonda have attracted plenty of interest from the resident Blues propping up our bar this season, but it’s fair to say that 19-year-old Mason Mount is the talk of the tavern right now. Chelsea’s academy product has raised plenty of eyebrows for the quality of his performances in Holland this year during a loan spell with Vitesse where he was recently handed the player of the year award.
During his spell in the Dutch Eredivisie, Mount (valued at £1.8 million by Transfermarkt) has scored 8 goals and provided 8 assists from 28 appearances for the club, so it’s fair to say he deserves a chance to shine in Chelsea’s first-team next season. However, the career of Lewis Baker proves that may not necessarily be the case.
Baker also took a loan move to Vitesse last season and he became a huge success by notching 10 goals and providing 4 assists from 33 appearances in the Eredivisie, but since he returned from Holland his career has rapidly gone downhill. He has spent the season on loan at promotion-chasing Middlesbrough where he has barely had a sniff of the first-team with just 6 starts to his name in the Championship all season.
Baker’s decline proves that the transition from Dutch to English football is certainly not a straightforward one, so Mount must learn the lessons from his teammates mistakes and ensure he makes a wise career choice this summer. One option for Mount is to remain at Chelsea and train with the first-team in order to learn and develop alongside some of the best players in England right now or, alternatively, he could take a risky loan move to a Championship club in the summer.
Moving back to Vitesse is also a viable option for Mount, especially considering he is only 19-years-old, but the success he has enjoyed in Holland suggests he should challenge himself at a higher level next season. Mount finds himself at an awkward crossroads as the summer window approaches and, between himself and the club hierarchy, he needs to make a decision which could have a profound impact on his long-term career aspirations.
Chelsea fans – thoughts? Let us know below!
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