For the second year running, Mason Mount has been voted the Chelsea men’s team Player of the Season by Blues supporters.
It crowns another fantastic campaign for Mount, who at 23 became the youngest Chelsea player to register at least 10 goals and 10 assists in a single Premier League season, and only the fifth to do so. He was presented with his trophy after the game against Watford today.
Mount, who won an online poll of supporters and was run close by Thiago Silva, has once again been a bedrock of consistency in our midfield and attack.
Tasked with knitting together our play in the final third, as well as offering energy and discipline out of possession, Mount has continued to demonstrate why he is regarded as one of the most exciting young players in modern football.
Mount was deployed in central midfield for a handful of matches but has mostly been used in the front three by Thomas Tuchel, and his numbers this season underline his effectiveness in that role. He leads the way for us in terms of both league goals (11) and league assists (10), as well as chances created, and his 29 goal involvements in all competitions is well clear of any other Chelsea player.
Mount also ranks top for chances created, possession won in the final third and shots. His six set-play assists are the most of any Premier League player this season, and indeed only Trent Alexander-Arnold has set up more goals in all competitions than Mount’s 16.
Mount played 53 games in all, and in his first, the UEFA Super Cup victory over Villarreal, lifted a trophy. He started in Belfast despite returning late for pre-season after helping England reach the Euro 2020 final last summer, the footballing schedule in a Covid world showing no sign of relenting.
He remained one of the first names on Tuchel's team sheet as we started strongly in league and cup, although he did have to wait a little while to find the net. When he did, against Norwich in October, the floodgates opened, and he finished the day with his first Chelsea hat-trick, in addition to setting up Reece James for another.
His next seven league appearances yielded a further four goals and two assists as he hit top form despite the team wobbling. A brilliant volley away at West Ham stood out, and underlined his technical prowess.
Mount continued to feature prominently as the fixtures came thick and fast at the turn of the year, but a rare injury meant he was only able to appear briefly at the FIFA Club World Cup. He still played an important part in Chelsea lifting that trophy for the first time, though, as he came on to help settle the ship when we were under pressure late in the semi-final, and was arguably the best player on the pitch in the opening stages of the final before an ankle injury forced him off.
He returned for the Carabao Cup final a couple of weeks later and was soon back on the scoresheet, too, netting in away wins at Norwich and Southampton. His goal set us on our way to so nearly completing a remarkable Champions League comeback against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu, with Mount also sending in a typically accurate corner for Toni Rudiger to put us 2-0 up on the night. He then sealed our FA Cup semi-final success over Crystal Palace a few days later.
With his assist at Elland Road in May, Mount reached double figures for both goals and assists in the Premier League. The magnitude of that achievement is highlighted by the fact only Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Eden Hazard and Juan Mata have done it before.
Mount did not deserve to miss the decisive penalty in the FA Cup final last weekend having been one of our best performers over two hard-fought hours of football against Liverpool, excellent in transition in particular. On another day he would have had a couple of assists and, at last, an FA Cup winners’ medal to his name.
Nonetheless, Mount is a worthy recipient of the Chelsea Player of the Season award for a second time. He is the 12th man to win it more than once, and at just 23 it would take a brave person to bet against him adding to that tally.
Chelsea men's Player of the Year winners
1967 - Peter Bonetti1968 - Charlie Cooke1969 - David Webb1970 - John Hollins1971 - John Hollins1972 - David Webb1973 - Peter Osgood1974 - Gary Locke1975 - Charlie Cooke1976 - Ray Wilkins1977 - Ray Wilkins1978 - Micky Droy1979 - Tommy Langley1980 - Clive Walker1981 - Petar Borota1982 - Mike Fillery1983 - Joey Jones1984 - Pat Nevin1985 - David Speedie1986 - Eddie Niedzwiecki1987 - Pat Nevin1988 - Tony Dorigo1989 - Graham Roberts1990 - Ken Monkou1991 - Andy Townsend1992 - Paul Elliott1993 - Frank Sinclair1994 - Steve Clarke1995 - Erland Johnsen1996 - Ruud Gullit1997 - Mark Hughes1998 - Dennis Wise1999 - Gianfranco Zola2000 - Dennis Wise2001 - John Terry2002 - Carlo Cudicini2003 - Gianfranco Zola2004 - Frank Lampard2005 - Frank Lampard2006 - John Terry2007 - Michael Essien2008 - Joe Cole2009 - Frank Lampard2010 - Didier Drogba2011 - Petr Cech2012 - Juan Mata2013 - Juan Mata2014 - Eden Hazard2015 - Eden Hazard2016 - Willian2017 - Eden Hazard2018 - N'Golo Kante2019 - Eden Hazard2020 - Mateo Kovacic2021 - Mason Mount2022 - Mason Mount