The Three Lions manager claims the Chelsea midfielder is only now gaining the credit he deserves.
England boss Gareth Southgate believes that Mason Mount now receives the credit he deserves only because Thomas Tuchel is leading him at Chelsea and no longer Frank Lampard.
Southgate is a big fan of the 22-year-old and named him in his starting XI for the seventh straight game in Sunday’s World Cup qualifier against Albania. The midfielder scored England’s second goal in the 2-0 win.
However, his and Lampard’s loyalty to the player has been called into question by some which, according to Southgate, only changed after the change of coach at Stamford Bridge.
After leading Mount to Derby and then Chelsea, Lampard was accused of favoritism when he continued to pick the midfielder in his squad. The accusations followed Mount internationally, despite having scored four goals in 15 international appearances.
Lampard was sacked in January and replaced by the more experienced Tuchel on a bench, who continued to pick Mount, and Southgate says that should silence his critics once and for all.
Speaking after Sunday’s victory in Tirana, Southgate said of Mount: “He’s a great player, but I was saying that in the fall. I guess now that Thomas Tuchel picks him, everyone will agree. When it was Frank, that doesn’t matter for some reason.
“He’s an exceptional player. He finds spaces smart, he handles the ball very well, he creates chances and he can score goals. I thought his performance was excellent tonight.”
Commenting on the performance of the rest of the team, Southgate added: “I think Phil Foden was also good. I found our four forwards to be good. Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips read the game well, fought well and got the ball back quickly.
We had over 70% possession of the ball and we controlled the game. In the end, we created more chances and we could have scored more. “
England’s victory in Albania brings the number of victories out of two in these World Cup qualifiers to two, with Wednesday’s home clash against Poland to come.
Although he’s been in both games so far, Mount is likely to play Wembley once again, as the Three Lions are looking for a third straight win in these qualifiers.
He will then return to Chelsea, where he has already made 39 appearances in all competitions with Tuchel’s side, fourth in the Premier League and still in contention for the Champions League and the FA Cup.
– .
