"He's carrying Chelsea on his shoulders" - Shaun Wright-Phillips says 23-year-old can win the Ballon d'Or in the future

Former Chelsea winger Shaun Wright-Phillips hopes midfielder Mason Mount stays a one-club man and believes that he can win the Ballon d'Or in the future.

The 23-year-old homegrown hero first shot to prominence in the 2019-20 season, scoring eight goals in his first senior season with The Blues. Since then, Mount has grown by leaps and bounds as an attacking midfielder.

Guiding his club to a third-placed finish last season, Mount registered 13 goals and 16 assists in 53 appearances across all competitions. He has also racked up 31 international caps for England, scoring four times.

Speaking exclusively to Genting Casino, Wright-Phillips lauded the Cobham graduate.

"Mason Mount is still a young player and is still learning to be consistent. He's played so well and is carrying Chelsea on his shoulders and helped them get into the UEFA Champions League, but people need to remember how young he is and that he's still got a lot to learn."

He continued:

"You look at when he came back to Chelsea from his loan spell, he played well when they were under a transfer ban, the season after that, Frank Lampard got sacked, Thomas Tuchel came in and he still played well. It's normal that he has a dip in form."

The 40-year-old further added:

"I hope Mason stays a one-club man at Chelsea and as long as they start to win trophies again, there will be no reason why he won't stay for his whole career. If Mount continues being the main man at Chelsea and they start collecting silverware again, I could see him winning a Ballon d'Or."

Mount, whose contract at Stamford Bridge expires in two years, was voted as the club's 'Player of the Season' for the second successive time last month.

Chelsea aim for a defensive rebuild

Ahead of the 2022-23 season, the Blues are aiming to add depth to their squad with quality defenders. This is due to the exits of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.

Speaking to football.london last month, head coach Thomas Tuchel said:

"We are rebuilding, not improving the squad. We are rebuilding. This is always challenging, but we are up for the challenge."

He continued:

"I don't know where we are from day one. What I can promise is that I will be here – if I can promise that – I will be here with full energy and positive energy no matter what. We will still work for Chelsea, and I refuse to think of negative scenarios. We will be competitive, on which level we will see."

According to a report by The Sun, the London club are pondering a move for Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Rayan Ait-Nouri. The Blues are also keeping tabs on Juventus centre-back Matthijs de Ligt, as per a report by Metro, and Sevilla defender Jules Kounde.