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Mason Mount has revealed that he played Declan Rice’s departure to Chelsea at the age of 14 amid rumors that the West Ham midfielder would possibly return to the club.
Chelsea star Mount is a close friend of Rice, the duo who play in a combination at Stamford Bridge Academy.
However, while Rice broke free and finally reached an agreement with London rival West Ham, Mount remains in Chelsea and has enjoyed an escape season in 2019-20.
The Blues are making market moves before the new season, already bringing Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner, and Rice, along with Kai Havertz, would now be on Frank Lampard’s wish list.
Mount says he has supported Rice for a successful career, and tells Chelsea’s official website: “When I was 14, I was lucky enough to get anything and was about to sign a new contract.
“But some boys are gone. When Dec left, it affected me a lot at the time.
“I knew, as one of my closest friends, that it wouldn’t be his end and that I would paint as hard as I could to get to where he is.”
Even Mount would have struggled to make his debut for Chelsea with previous coaches, with the club famous for not capitalizing on the great fortune of their youth teams.
But Mount had his with Reece James, Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham.
The foreigner from England has rewarded Lampard’s religion with 8 goals in 53 appearances in all competitions.
“My dad had questions [about staying at Chelsea] because there weren’t many young players in the first team,” Mount said.
“JT [John Terry] was the only one who succeeded and had an amazing career.
“I think I’d be part of the first team, though, thanks to the hard paintings and determination, and I didn’t let anyone interfere with my concentration, even my father when I had questions.”