Chelsea: Mount omission from the Golden Boy list is unjustified
Chelsea regular, England starter and pioneer of a generation; Mason Mount will never get the credit he deserves whilst others walk down a similar path.
Individual accolades have begun to bundle team successes off the stage and into the wings as it basks in the glory and praise from the media and fans alike. Tuttosport has fuelled this vanity with its Golden Boy trophy, an award conjured up in 2003 to celebrate the brightest talents across Europe under the age of 21. The comapny recently released its 20-man shortlist, whittled down from a possible 100 candidates, and one glaringly obvious name is missing.
Mason Mount was not even deemed worthy enough for the initial centennial vote, let alone the remaining final contestants. As startling as it seems, this outcome is utterly expected. It begins within the realms of his own country. Mount was recognised for his outstanding debut season for Chelsea with a place on the PFA Young Player of the Year honors, alongside fellow Blue Christian Pulisic, the pair pipped by Trent Alexander-Arnold.
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He was also overlooked for the club’s Player of the Year, won by Matteo Kovacic, despite making the most appearances of any Chelsea player across all competitions. Further, the Englishman outscored the Croat by six goals.
Neither award will matter to Mount too much—considering he is living every football fan’s dream by representing his boyhood club and country. However, it is these very supporters who have chastised and criticised the 21-year-old’s involvement over the past few months. There was an uproar on social media when Gareth Southgate continually opted to select him in his England starting line-up. This especially riled the Jack Grealish contingent after he was unused against Belgium and Denmark, which some perceive is because of Southgate’s school-ground favoritism of Mount.
How can a European audience acknowledge him if his own followers are hounding his very existence? He has given them absolutely no reason for this mob mentality, on or off the pitch. Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood, both finalists for the Golden Boy, were evicted from the England camp after breaking COVID rules away in Iceland. A slap on the wrist and on they went, some even bemoaning that England lacked any attacking left footers, as if this was reason enough for them to be reinstated.
If you contrast him to the other nominated Englishmen from the Premier League, Mount’s statistics are almost incomparable. His 32 league starts in 2019/20 swallows the likes of Bukayo Saka (19), Greenwood (12), Foden (nine), and his Chelsea teammate, Callum Hudson-Odoi (seven). The latter’s inclusion is perhaps the most baffling in terms of Mount’s exclusion because there is no doubt whose campaign shone brighter.
His contributions also outweigh his foes and friends, managing seven goals and five assists. Meanwhile, Hudson-Odoi and Saka had six combined, Fodon seven and Greenwood 11. All four have been applauded for their creativity, yet, it is Mount who has boasts the highest key pass average per game of 1.4. Hudson-Odoi managed 0.9, Saka and Foden 0.8, Greenwood 0.5.
Jadon Sancho is the only Brit who supersedes Mount, the Borussia Dortmund forward among the front runners for the award after another sterling season in the Bundesliga. 17 goals and 16 assists is an unrivaled return, however, even he has been subjected to a place on the bench whilst Southgate flies the Mount flag.
What’s consistent about all the nominees aside from Sancho is that they were nurtured through their respective club’s academies. Greenwood and Saka had a particularly breakthrough year, whereas Foden has repeatedly been tipped as the understudy for David Silva at Manchester City. Hudson-Odoi has flirted with the idea of joining Bayern Munich but has stayed put through one means or another. Sancho has flown the nest, is fully spreading his wings in Dortmund, and is reaping the rewards on an international scale.
Mount too was raised through the youth ranks, and like Sancho, cut his teeth elsewhere; first abroad with Vitesse Arnhem, then with Derby County in the competitive landscape of the Championship. Nevertheless, his admirable decision to depart his native settings, to compete in one of Europe’s most demanding leagues, has been glazed over. Because he didn’t make it big abroad, nor did he progress immediately from the junior to the senior sides, Mount hasn’t prescribed to the preferred route of the judges and sheriffs of football.
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Who knows when Mason Mount will earn the respect he has merited. It might be too late before people understand how good of an individual he really is, which is a great shame for England’s Golden Boy.