Mason Mount named in FIFA 21 Team of the Season fresh off 100th Chelsea appearance

On Tuesday, Mason Mount made his 100th Chelsea appearance, becoming the 227th player to do so in club history.

That alone doesn’t sound too impressive, but when you consider that Mount’s done that in less than two full seasons (lapping the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi in the process), at just age 22, it becomes a fair bit more impressive. And when you consider that he’s just the second Academy graduate to do so in the last couple decades, since John Terry, it becomes even more noteworthy. And when you consider that he’s the first since even before then to do so as truly “one of us”, having been at the club since age 6, it becomes something to be truly celebrated. (Terry and the other recnt centurion, Andreas Christensen, both joined the club in their teens.)

We had recently celebrated César Azpilicueta cracking the top ten in all-time appearances — he’s moved up to No.8 with 422 after Tuesday in fact, passing Steve Clarke — and had wondered who might have a chance to truly crack the very top of that leaderboard (only Chopper, The Cat, and JT in the 700-club). Mount’s off to a most promising start in that regard.

It’s a long ways to go of course, with many different factors potentially coming into play, including injuries, consistency, and form. But we certainly wouldn’t bet against Mount truly fulfilling his Chelsea destiny, and it seems like the rest of the football world is finally becoming convinced as well. Mount was named in the FIFA 21 Premier League Team of the Season yesterday, which may not count for much, but it does shape public (popular) opinion, for better or worse.

The other nominees include: Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, Bruno Fernandes, Harry Kane, Ederson, Son Heung-Min, Jamie Vardy, Rúben Dias, Marcus Rashford, Ilkay Gundoga, Tomas Soucek, João Cancelo, Luke Shaw, and Wesley Fofana.

Not bad company!

In any case, congrats, Mason! Here’s to the next 100.