MASON’S A MOD ROCKER
Luka is my idol but I’ll give him shirt shrift says Mount
BEST FOOT FORWARD: Mount having a laugh in England training
MASON MOUNT says he won’t get shirty with Luka Modric when he goes head-to-head with his hero tomorrow.
Mount will come up against the player he used to idolise growing up when England kick off their Euros campaign against Group D rivals Croatia at Wembley.
The Chelsea ace admits to being left stunned when Real Madrid superstar Modric asked him to swap shirts following their recent Champions League semifinal encounter at Stamford Bridge.
Mount has the memento in his house and went on to claim an even bigger prize when Thomas Tuchel’s men became kings of Europe.
But Mount, 22, admits there is no chance of Modric getting his hands on his Three Lions shirt following the crunch encounter in London.
Mount said: “He’s always been a player that I’ve looked up to, ever since he was in the Premier League playing for Spurs.
“Then obviously playing against him was weird because I’ve watched him so much growing up I kind of knew his moves and what he was going to do.
“It helps being a fan of a player and then playing against him. You know what he likes to do. You want to learn how to handle the big moments and pressure.
“He asked for my shirt after the second game. He came up to me, said he wanted it and wished me good luck in the final. I was quite overwhelmed. It was special.
“I’m not too sure if we are allowed to swap shirts or not during the tournament, but I’ll be looking to keep every single shirt I wear in the Euros. I don’t want to give them away.” The last time England were in a major tournament, Mount was an excited fan, cheering on Southgate’s team at the World Cup.
Mount travelled to Russia with Ryan Sessegnon and Phil Foden to watch England reach the semi-finals and do some sightseeing.
Now Mount is an integral part of the Three Lions side and looking to go one better by conquering Europe to win England’s first trophy since 1966.
With fans back at matches, Mount has even allowed himself to dare to dream of winning the tournament on home soil to etch his name into footballing history.
He said: “I was lucky enough to go out to Russia and watch one of the group games. Seeing Kieran Trippier score the free-kick against them, only for Croatia to win late on, it was heartbreaking to watch. Those kind of experiences put the extra fire in the belly to put something right.
“The atmosphere at the recent Champions League Final was unbelievable. We’ve been without fans for over a year and to have a few thousand back is special. It’s something we live and thrive off.
“You always have that little think abut ‘what if’ and ‘what could be’ later down the line when hopefully a packed out Wembley would be incredible.
“You do think about it but we have to try and stay in the moment in hand.
“But we want to create history – and I feel with this young group we can definitely do that. We know the level of players we have and how hungry we are to create history. We have got to go and perform on the pitch now.”