“I must say I’m a fan” – Steven Gerrard rates Chelsea star as ‘one of the best players in the country’

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard has heaped praise on Chelsea star Mason Mount ahead of the Blues' trip to Villa Park on Sunday. Both sides have been ravaged by both COVID-19 and injuries and are likely to field highly-weakened teams during the contest.

Mason Mount, however, is highly likely to feature for Chelsea. The midfielder has been one of the Blues' best players this season and is the club's top scorer, having scored seven goals across all competitions so far.

Ahead of the game, Steven Gerrard was full of praise for Mount and his progress for both club and country so far. He said:

"I’ve watched his progress - of course I have. He’s a big talent for the country. I’m a massive fan of Mason. He plays with a smile on his face. He can create, he can score and he’s already a European Cup winner so I don’t think he needs the likes of myself to big him up. I must say I'm a fan. I just hope he doesn’t have such a strong performance at the weekend."

He added:

"I think he’s only going to get better the more he plays and the more experience he gets. He’s already certainly one of the best players in the country. I have no doubts that he will be in the next squads for a lot of tournaments. They went so close in the last tournament, and hopefully, they can go one step further this time."

"This is the strongest England team" - Gerrard on England national team

Chelsea star Mount in action for England

Steven Gerrard was also asked about the current national team set-up and how he thinks England have fared under Gareth Southgate so far. The former Liverpool man praised the team and stated that they gave a good account of themselves at Euro 2020. He said:

“I will obviously be a supporter from afar but at the moment this is the strongest England team or squad I have seen for some time and I’ve got every confidence in them. I’d love to play in it. It’s not me putting an opinion out there that I’m plucking from the air. I think Gareth and the players in the last tournament have gone and given an extremely strong account of themselves."