MASON A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK!

Lampard relies on Mount and sees a lot of himself in the hard-working midfielder

FRANK LAMPARD has praised “incredible” Mason Mount and recognises elements of himself in the Chelsea midfielder.

The Blues boss admitted he would have been equally upset at being substituted at half time as Mount was in Sunday’s FA Cup tie at Leicester.

But Lampard offered a glowing assessment of the 21-year-old, who has been one of the stand-out players in Chelsea’s season. Lampard said: “I rely on Mason a lot, I did at Derby, I do at Chelsea. He brings so much to the team in his work ethic and the way he can start the press in midfield, and his quality on the ball, which is only going to get better. It’s already at a really high level.

“Mason wouldn’t have been happy coming off at half-time, I know that because he’s a bit like myself.

“If there is one comparison I could make, I know that when he’s not playing he’s not happy, and when he comes off he won’t be happy. But he was straight back to it afterwards because he knows how much I trust in him. He works brilliantly every day.”

Mount is close friends with

West Ham’s Declan Rice and the pair (left) both got a telling off early on in lockdown when they were pictured having a kickabout in March.

But Lampard revealed he “had the shortest word possible” with Mount. The Blues manager added: “He was kicking a ball about and that’s so typical of Mason and how he lives his life.”

WEST HAM:

Fabianski,

Fredericks, Balbuena, Diop, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Noble, Anderson, Fornals, Bowen

CHELSEA: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen, Alonso, Kante, Barkley, Mount, Willian, Pedro, Giroud