Peter Bonetti, John Hollins, Peter Osgood, Gary Locke, Ray Wilkins, Tommy Langley, Clive Walker, Mike Fillery, Frank Sinclair, John Terry . . . Mason Mount. Following in the footsteps of several club greats, Mount was named Chelsea’s 2021/21 Player of the Year. He became the latest in line of academy graduates who would, one day, go on to win the honor. Mount also became only the third player under the age of 24 to claim the award, thereby joining the elite company of Terry and Eden Hazard—perhaps a sign of greater things to come.
Mount has come a long way at Chelsea. From joining the club as a child, progressing through the ranks to making his first team breakthrough and finally, leading the team as the captain in what turned out to be Frank Lampard’s final game in charge. He has had his critics—some more vocal than others—but the youngster eventually proved them wrong thanks to his sheer talent and determination. His numbers this season speak of a marked improvement in all aspects of his game. He leads the team in terms of key passes, big chances created, tackles and accurate crosses. The midfielder also sits second in terms of assists and third for goals, interceptions and dribbles.
His being awarded Chelsea Men’s Player of the Year signifies the closing of a chapter—one which saw him come of age at his boyhood club. However, Mount’s story is far from over yet. Therefore, we must ask ourselves the question—as I’m sure the youngster must be too—what’s next?
1. Identifying areas of growth
Despite the stellar season Mount has had, he remains a league below the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Kevin de Bruyne, players one might consider elite in their group. Edging the gap between himself and those ahead of him should be, and will be, his target. Scoring more goals will certainly help him in doing so. Ruthlessness and prolificacy, then, is what he must look to add to his overall game to take that one step further. Mount’s numbers for this season are remarkable, as mentioned above. He has recorded a modest goal contribution, scoring and assisting 16 across all competitions, but those numbers are fairly below the elite standard. There are some obvious facets of his game that could be improved to give them a boost. Goals are the most tangible statistic in football, after all; the single-most valuable currency of the sport.
2. Improvement
Before diving into the numbers, we must determine what Mount is good at when it comes to shots and goals. The youngster has got a mean whip on his right foot, allowing him to bend shots from long range. He generates enough power to beat the goalkeeper, although that hasn’t always worked well due to his slightly lagging composure. He is fairly good from set pieces and even scored a wonderful free kick last season, which begs the question—why hasn’t he taken more? More on that later.
Presently, the focus turns to how and where Mount takes his shots from generally. The England international has a decent return this season of nine goals across all competitions, but is still quite wasteful. He has taken 100 shots across all competitions for Chelsea this season, from which nine have gone in—a nine percent conversion rate that is only marginally better than Timo Werner.
Wyscout recorded 89 shots which Mount has taken this season for Chelsea, a slight variation from the previous data. However, it proved to be useful when filtering out his shots based on the position on the pitch. The Pride of London sat through all 89 of those shots before dividing them into three categories—shots from outside the box, shots from inside the box and shots from 12 yards or around the penalty area.
As it turns out, only 14 of those 89 shots Mount took were inside the “golden zone,” or the 12-yard area from where the probability of scoring is likely to be the highest. Unquestionably, those shots yielded the best return. Five of his nine goals this season have come from that zone, including one penalty. To that end, he should be making more runs deep into the box when the Blues are attacking. That is sometimes limited by the team’s build-up, nevertheless, a tally of 14 shots all season from the danger zone is something that he needs to work on.
Looking further upward, Mount has taken 30 shots from inside the opposition box, but most of them were low probability strikes from difficult angles, or which were hit the first time as the ball fell to him on the rebound. He did score twice from those positions, with one particular strike against Liverpool likely to be heralded as one of Chelsea’s goals of the season.
Furthermore, the youngster took most of his shots from outside the box (45 out of 89). However, not a lot of them were of good quality. A lot of those were snapshots that were taken quickly, without first setting himself up. A few of them hit the defenders who had crowded him out on the edge of the area, and some of them naturally went off target. Overall, Mount scored twice from distance this season—against West Bromwich Albion and Morecambe—but his tally suggests he should’ve either done better or chosen an alternative option more frequently.
Mount’s expected goals (xG) numbers also paint a similar picture. Thus far during the current campaign, he is averaging 0.08 xG per shot on target, which is only the ninth-best in the squad. In comparison, Tammy Abraham and Kai Havertz have averaged around 0.18 xG per shot, while Christian Pulisic stands at 0.13. It shows that, despite taking a high number of shots, the youngster rarely takes good ones.
What can he do to improve then?
3. Solutions
Firstly, he needs to get into better positions. Mount was often left to take shots from distance or pushed wide inside the opposition box from where the chances of scoring are low. His position on the pitch does account for it to a certain degree, but at the same time, it also provides him with a chance to make late runs into better areas. This was an ability that his mentor, Frank Lampard, mastered during his time as a player.
Secondly, Mount can also start by taking better shots. That means that shooting only when there is space available from outside the box. He can also work on his finishing from his weaker foot, as often his shots from the left were parried away by the goalkeeper. Alternatively, he can start picking out better spots to shoot at. Mount often went across with his shots when pushed out to the left side, which allowed the goalkeeper to make a save. He can do a Pulisic instead, and shoot at the near post with power, thus catching the custodian off-guard.
Thirdly, he can—and definitely should—work on his composure. Mount has been guilty of missing glaring chances from close range. He has a good shot on him, but at times, failed to convert from close range. His lost chance against Real Madrid in the second leg provided a glimpse at the same as he raced into a good position only to blast his shot high and wide.
Finally, there is another option though which the Englishman can boost his numbers—set pieces! While spot kicks and free kicks are by no means a guarantee, they still can work as a cheat code against defenses. Mount has shown his ability from both, but is still shy of taking them from time to time. He has taken three penalties in his Chelsea career so far, two in a shootout and only one from open play. He scored the one from open play this season. With Werner stepping away from his penalty duties and Jorginho inconsistent early in this term, Mount should take over the responsibility. The same can be said about free kicks. Often the Englishman steps aside to allow Marcos Alonso, Reece James and Ben Chilwell to hit the set piece. Mount has the ability to score from a dead-ball situation, as he proved last season in a crunch match against Wolves.
Despite all this, one can’t deny that Mount has been a fantastic player for Chelsea since breaking into the first team. He has stepped up from the role of a prospect to a key player this season and was duly named the club’s Player of the Season.
What comes next? Simple, more work. The gap between himself and those ahead of him is still considerable, although when it comes to Mount, no gap is unassailable.