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The Frenchman was beaming in his assessment of a Stamford Bridge colleague after a crucial victory at Tottenham over the weekend
Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount is the player with the most potential at the club, according to N’Golo Kante.
Mount returned to Stamford Bridge this summer after a successful loan spell at Derby, reuniting with Frank Lampard in the process, who oversaw his rise to prominence at Pride Park before succeeding Maurizio Sarri as Chelsea’s new head coach in July.
Lampard wasted no time in thrusting Mount into the senior fold, as he set about bringing through a number of the club’s academy stars while the Blues served a FIFA-imposed transfer ban.
Mount has featured in all 18 of Chelsea’s Premier League fixtures this season, scoring five goals, while also emerging as a regular in Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
The 20-year-old played the full 90 minutes of Sunday’s 2-0 win away at Tottenham, producing another eye-catching display in the middle of the park as a Willian double earned the Blues a valuable three points.
Kante has been impressed with Mount’s contribution this term, and thinks the young playmaker has all the attributes to become a “very good player” as his career progresses.
“Out of all the Chelsea players, one player who has the biggest potential is, Mason Mount,” Kante told Canal Plus.
“His combination play, his shooting technique, passing technique. How he sees the game. He could become a very good player.”
Chelsea moved six points ahead of Spurs in fourth after victory in the London derby, and four clear of newly-promoted Sheffield United, who are now their closest challengers in the race for the final Champions League spot in fifth.
Lampard opted to try a new 3-4-3 formation against Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham, with the hope that the inclusion of an extra centre-back would help to keep the likes of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura and Dele Alli quiet.
The 41-year-old manager’s tactics worked perfectly on the day, and he was pleased with how his players stuck to their tasks vigilantly against a strong opponent.
“The way we play it and the message I give is different,” Lampard said post-match. “It was more, can this be a system that helps us defensively and offensively against Tottenham, with the way they play? It was my choice to play it, not to do with whether the players understand it. The players took the plan on incredible well, as we all saw.
“Watching Tottenham, they’re playing very well, they have a lot of players who can run behind and cause you problems: Son, Kane, Alli, Moura. Having an extra centre-back gives you an element of protection against that, particular with the athletic centre-backs we have. They never got in on that pass today.”
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Lampard added on his decision to push Mount and Willian further forward: “The most important factor in my thinking was what it could give us offensively, in terms of controlling possession. Tottenham defended quite compact, we needed to use the width of the pitch and wing-backs help you do that.
“We haven’t been clinical enough lately, and it allowed us to get Mason Mount and Willian slightly inside behind Tammy. We had an element of protection the way it worked. Also, it allowed us to have loads of control of the ball. I’m so pleased with how it went.”
Chelsea will be back in Premier League action on Boxing Day, with Southampton set to arrive at the Bridge three days before Lampard’s men take in a trip to Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal.
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