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Former Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has weighed in on Mason Mount's move to Manchester United.
The Chelsea academy product left Stamford Bridge this summer to join the Red Devils in a deal worth £60 million (including add-ons). Mount had less than 12 months left on his Blues contract and was reportedly unable to make any progress on an extension with his former club.
Upon signing for United, he was given the club's iconic No. 7 jersey, with many fans opposing the decision. The player has a tough challenge ahead of him to prove his mettle at Old Trafford.
His former boss, Lampard, seems to believe that the 24-year-old England international will deliver for Erik ten Hag's team.
Lampard told The Diary of a CEO podcast.:
"I think it’s a great signing. It’s a complicated one and in the end, he’s got a year left on his contract [with Chelsea]. So in terms of what he’ll bring to Manchester United, it won’t just be what Mason brings, he will bring loads of talent, but he’s just going to go [up] and [raise] levels."
He added:
"Don’t get me wrong, the bar raise is already there with Bruno Fernandes, [Marcus] Rashford, Casemiro… he will absolutely fit in with it."
Lampard believes Mount absolutely has the mentality to fit in as a team player who is hungry for success.
"If you’re trying to build, a group mentality of a team, players who are just going to give everything with their talent, he fits it. I’ve seen alternative reaction to what, ‘why would you pay that for him?’, Mason Mount is going to be a fantastic player there, in my opinion," he said.
Lampard discusses Mount's Chelsea exit after 18 years at the club
Mount joined Chelsea as a six-year-old back in 2005. He spent 12 seasons with the development and youth team before upgrading to the senior setup. In his four seasons as a senior Chelsea player, he won the club's Player of the Year award on two occasions.
Overall, he registered 33 goals and 37 assists in 195 games for the Blues. He had a sub-par outing in the last campaign, scoring three goals and laying down six assists in 35 games for Chelsea.
As a player who has come through the academy, Mount was expected to stay at the club for much longer by most fans. Lampard echoed the same thought but explained that he understood the decision from the player.
"I think probably Mason would have envisaged two years ago that he would stay at Chelsea for a lot of his career. I just think circumstances, his contract situation, I know he’s got a big love for Chelsea," he said.
He added:
"Also in the modern day, I think more than even in my day, players do move, and I don’t think the challenge of moving now it’s come to that, for Mason personally, it’s a good challenge for him, I would’ve liked to have seen him stay at Chelsea because I think he would’ve been central to it but it didn’t happen."
Mount made his Chelsea senior debut under Lampard back in 2019.
