Lampard delighted with ‘massive coup’ to sign Mason Mount on loan at Derby

Yesterday, Mason Mount became the 16th member of Chelsea’s Loan Army for this season, but he may be the one on whom we keep the closest eye, especially as he’s joined the budding Chelsea enclave in Derby and will be playing under the tutelage of Frank Lampard, his idol, and Jody Morris, his former head coach at Chelsea U18.

Mount apparently had several, arguably more glamorous offers than Derby County, but the allure of playing for SuperFrank trumped them all. In talking about the deal, Lampard reciprocates similar levels of excitement.

“I know Mason really well from my Chelsea links and I have also watched him play in their very successful youth teams. I knew him from those days and I watched him closely at Vitesse, where he took it by storm. His numbers are incredible for an attacking midfield player of his age and it’s a massive coup for me to get him here.

”He can bring us creativity in the attacking midfield area, goals, assists as well as energy. He was wanted across Europe by top, top, clubs and we should be very happy that we have got him.

“The thing about Mason is it’s not just on the pitch. He’s so dedicated and hungry off it too. He wants to do well, and he wants to improve. This is a real stage to develop for him and to go out and play at a really competitive level with us. His character and quality are going to be huge for us.”

-Frank Lampard; source: Derby County FC

One gets the feeling that Mason will have every chance to prove himself and succeed, and at the end of the day, that’s the most we could ever truly ask from a loan move.

Derby will be in action tonight in a friendly at Mansfield. Their season begins on August 3rd as they visit another ex-Chelsea-managed team in Reading, where Paul Clement will begin his first full season in charge of the Royals (and former Chelsea prospect John Swift, who seems to have recovered from the Achilles problems that limited him last season).

Good luck to all!