Shaun Wright-Phillips has advised Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel to consider using Mason Mount further up the pitch to get the best out of him.
Mount, who earns £88,000-a-week, was a surprise substitute in the midweek defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League.
The 22-year-old was used off the bench in the first game of the Tuchel reign, but in a short cameo showed why he’s been one of the standout players in the team this season.
If Tuchel’s first game as manager is anything to go by, he likes to use a deeper midfield pivot and play two creative numbers 10s in front of that.
Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech started as the inverted wingers against Wolves trying to create from the number 10 playmaker position.
Former Blues star Wright-Phillips has suggested though that Mount is ideal to play in that area with his work-rate, energy and quality around the box.
“He wants to press high, so wouldn’t you rather have Mason Mount behind [Olivier] Giroud because that’s his natural game,” Wright-Phillips said.
“He presses. He makes a nuisance of himself, and then when he wins the ball, he has that extra quality to either get a goal or go create something.”
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Chelsea fans are upbeat about what they’ve seen from Tuchel during his first week in charge of the club, but time will tell his favoured formation and who he views as his best players.
It will be a surprise if Mount doesn’t re-establish himself in the side, so it’ll be interesting to see where he plays.
The England international can do a job as a deeper midfielder, as well as pushing high up the pitch, but looks extremely effective in a box-to-box role.
Adding more goals and assists is an area of his game that Mount will want to improve, especially if he wants to try nail down a spot in the England team.