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Is Mason Mount underrated at Chelsea?

Mason Mount continues to go under the radar, despite three years of continuous improvement at Chelsea. He doesn’t get the same acclaim given to Jack Grealish or Phil Foden, despite arguably having a much better season. There are still some that believe Mount is overrated and don’t believe he should be a regular in the England team. Supporters that regularly go to Stamford Bridge will agree he is one of the best players in the Premier League. He is their most important and consistent attacking player, as shown by leading both the goals and assists for the Blues this season.

This season, Mount has contributed ten goals and eight assists. He leads the charts for both at Stamford Bridge. There is a great opportunity for Mount to hit the double double, which is more than ten for goals and assists. This is the mark of a great player and only Mohamed Salah has hit this landmark in the Premier League this season.
During the previous two seasons, Mount registered 13 goals and ten assists in the Premier League. There is an outside chance he could double his numbers for both this season, showing his improvement as an attacker. For his first two seasons as a top-flight player, he averaged a goal involvement every 250.7 minutes. During this season, he has hugely improved this with a goal involvement every 101.4 minutes.
Mount is taking the leap as an attacker and it is going under the radar. He is an unfashionable player with Reece James and Kai Havertz seeming to get more plaudits from the media.
The 23-year-old is a versatile midfielder, who ranks strongly across a lot of different metrics. He is very much a jack of all trades and he is starting to master some of these. Mount averages 0.28 non-penalty expected goals and 0.27 expected assists per ninety minutes. This places him in the 75th and 87th percentile when ranked against other attacking midfielders/wingers.
In terms of his volume of attacking actions, Mount averages 2.46 shots and 4.02 shot creating actions per ninety minutes. Again, he ranks well in the 70th and 77th percentiles respectively for these metrics. The England international is very good at getting into the penalty area, with an average of 5.41 touches in the opposition penalty area every ninety minutes. In these positions, he operates well in tight spaces and carries a big threat.
This has been a big improvement in his game, as he is getting into the box more regularly. This has been a big reason for his increase in goals and assists. Although he rarely dribbles with the ball, he can progress the ball through carries and passes. Mount averages 4.57 progressive passes (82nd percentile) and 6.57 progressive carries (62nd percentile) per ninety minutes. There is a preference to play good forward passes to team-mates, rather than run with the ball. It is his off the ball movement into the final third that is his biggest strength.
Like many in the modern game, Mount offers a lot out of possession. He is an excellent presser and is frequently seen winning the ball in the opposition defensive third. He averages 20.72 pressures per ninety minutes, placing him in the 80th percentile.
It has been an incredible season for Mount. After the disappointing exit in the Champions League, he will be focused on finishing the season strongly and reaching the double double landmark.
There will still be people that don’t want Mount to start in Qatar later this year, but based on this season, he is now one of the best players in the Premier League. As a result, he should be one of the first names on Gareth Southgate’s team-sheet.
Stats taken from fbref (powered by statsbomb)
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