Mason Mount, a standout for Chelsea, is eager to succeed Cesar Azpilicueta as club captain.
Despite rumors Cesar Azpilicueta is close to joining Barcelona, Chelsea star Mason Mount maintains he is prepared to take on the role of captain.
Following nine trophy-filled years at Stamford Bridge, the veteran defender is eager for a fresh challenge and is about to sign with the Catalan giants after months of negotiations.
Currently on Chelsea’s preseason tour of the United States, Azpilicueta participated in the 2-1 victory over Club America last weekend before missing Wednesday’s loss to Charlotte due to a slight hamstring issue.
The armband was worn by Mount while he was away, and the recent academy graduate is prepared to fill in as needed.
Yes, I’m still young and learning, but anytime the chance to step forward arises, I want to seize it, Mount told the press.
Naturally, the coach gave me the honor of leading the team in the second half, and I accept that responsibility. I always want to be the one who can handle it, whether we win or lose.
To “take it on the chin” both if we succeed and, plainly, if we fail.
Kalidou Koulibaly, a recent acquisition, and veteran midfielders N’Golo Kante and Jorginho would also be excellent candidates to succeed Azpilicueta as captain. Koulibaly captained Napoli for eight years when playing for the Serie A side.
Even though Mount is the youngest of the group, his qualifications are clear, even though his approach to leadership may be different from that of former Chelsea captains.
I’m not the most loud person by nature, he continued. “I truly haven’t been that. I always tried to lead by example on the field when I was the captain of the Under-18 FA Youth Cup team.
“But you have to bring that as well, and that’s something I am continually trying to learn from people like Azpi and Jorgi who have served as captains of this club,” said the player. I’m merely attempting to incorporate what I can learn from them into my own game.
“You have to have that other side as well,” the adage goes, “even if you’re not someone who leads with the ball and leads on the pitch.”
When asked if his success gives inspiration to the prospective Chelsea stars of the future, he replied, “We want to be role models to the players that are under-six, under-seven, under-eights, that are coming through looking up to us and what we’ve done over the previous couple of years.”
We simply need to keep leading by example and working hard since we are all still young and have a lot more to accomplish. That is currently our objective and our course of action.