Mason Mount has been playing an absurd amount of minutes at Derby County on loan from Chelsea. Some want him to return as a regista deputy. He is not that.
Mason Mount is one of the loan army’s brightest stars. Frank Lampard seemingly agrees as he has virtually played Mount every minute he has been available. In fact Mount (and Fikayo Tomori) have both played more than Derby County’s first choice keeper and are only beaten out by the team’s captain.
Chelsea management and fans alike are already looking towards the future. The Blues need someone to deputize Jorginho right now. But some want Mount to return and play the role, while others fear bringing in another midfielder will force Mount out of the club.
But all of that does not make a whole lot of sense. Mount is a fantastic player, but being a regista behind Jorginho simply is not in his future. It would be a waste of his skill set.
There is a sense that because he is young that he can learn the role. That is true; he could learn the role. But the question should not be whether or not he could but whether he should.
Mount is very quick with the ball at his feet. He has a great touch and great passing to pair with it. But he also has very good positional sense and Lampard has clearly been teaching him how to time his late runs. To use an antiquated and rigid definition, Mount is an eight like Lampard was before him.
Moving Mount to the regista spot could work and he would likely do well there. But he would do even better in one of the other midfield spots where he can attack more and press more aggressively. Ethan Ampadu finds himself in a similar debate right now. Whereas he can play the regista role, he is even better as a centerback. Again, just because a player is young and can learn a role does not mean they should.
The argument that bringing a new midfielder in could force Mount out is a more interesting take. Chelsea has plenty of midfielders right now and two of the three starting roles are seemingly locked down. So if another midfielder comes in, where does that leave Mount in the pecking order?
More or less, it will depend on who stays and goes next season. If Chelsea buys another midfielder for the box to box roles and keeps Mateo Kovacic, then Mount really will not have a spot in the squad. Even if only one midfielder is added onto Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley (either Kovacic or a new midfielder), Mount will struggle for playing time at Chelsea.
But it should also be considered that Mount is not quite Premier League ready. He breezed through the Eredivisie, but the Championship has restrained him more. He is ready for a greater challenge than the Championship, but he is not quite ready for the leap to the Chelsea first team.
Perhaps the best case scenario is Chelsea keeps all the current midfielders and brings in a Jorginho deputy while loaning Mount to a Premier League club. The perfect scenario is Derby County earns promotion and Mount is sent back to them for their Premier League season.
Mount is a great player for the future, but the Blues should not get hung up on making him a regista. If a new midfielder does come into Chelsea, the management needs to convince Mount that his role will be elsewhere for the Blues. Once he is ready for it of course.