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He is 19 years old. He is Vitesse Arnhem’s Player of the Year. And it looks very much like Mason Mount, the Chelsea loanee who had to fight his way into the Dutch side’s lineup at the start of the season, is now too good for the Eredivisie.
He put an exclamation mark on his breakout season with a spectacular game against ADO Den Haag on Wednesday, in the first leg of a Europa League playoff.
Mason Mount's game tonight vs ADO Den Haag:
— Oddschanger (@Oddschanger) May 9, 2018
✅ 100% tackles won
✅ 4 shots
✅ 3 shots on target
✅ 3 chances created
✅ 3 goals
✅ 2 interceptions
✅ 1 assist#Baller
In an entertaining league where the play — and the space — is wide open, young Mount tallied three goals and an assist in Vitesse’s 5-2 win. His first goal was a beautiful half-volley off of a long pass.
Just three minutes later, the attacking midfielder once again found ADO’s defense granting him a generous amount of space. Like any good goal scorer would do, he took a shot. As with all but one of his strikes in this game, it not only found the target, it went in.
In the second half, with the game comfortably in hand, Vitesse won a free kick at the top of Den Haag’s box. Understandably, the entrusted it to Mason. Predictably, he knocked it in.
Fellow loanee Matt Miazga also played, as he has in the vast majority of Vitesse’s games this season. Fankaty Dabo was an unused substitute, as was former Chelsea youngster Mukhtar Ali. The second leg will be on Saturday, with a playoff final against the winner of Heerenveen and Utrecht to follow after that.
At the start of the season, Mount rode the bench for five of Vitesse’s first six matches, getting a scant 13 minutes in all. It wasn’t until the 13th round of the Eredivisie campaign that he played the full 90 minutes. He’s been immovable ever since. His tally stands at 11 goals and 10 assists in 38 appearances in all comps this season.
The obvious question is, what next? It’s hard to believe that he’d grow by playing another season in the Netherlands. If he’s ever to play in the Premier League, he’d benefit from playing in a league where the marking is tighter and more physical. Where Chelsea choose to send this promising youngster is going to be one of the more intriguing questions of the summer.