3/1 To Win
Mason Mount says he’s loving life at Derby County as he continues to gain valuable first-team experience.
The 19-year-old midfielder is with the Rams for the 2018/19 campaign on a season-long loan deal from Premier League side Chelsea.
Mount, who turns 20 in January, has been a near ever-present in Derby’s midfield since arriving in the summer and has made 27 appearances in all competitions.
The youngster has hit the net on six occasions this season, including a fine strike in Derby's dramatic 4-3 win at Norwich City at the weekend.
His fine form saw him land his first-ever call-up to the England senior squad in October and the youngster says he’s benefitting from his time at Pride Park Stadium.
He is determined to make the most of the experience with Derby and the opportunity to work under manager Frank Lampard and his coaching team.
Mount told RamsTV: “I’m really enjoying it and it has been an unbelievable experience playing in this Championship so far.
“There are so many games and you can learn from so many things as well.
“I’m just learning with every single game and with every day that passes by as well.
“I’m trying to take everything in and on board and I am really looking forward to the second half of the season.”
He added: “I expected it to be hard and tough and, to be honest, it has probably been tougher than I thought in a good way.
“Every game is tough and that’s certainly something you learn about this league, there is never an easy fixture. You have to work hard and I’m enjoying all the different challenges and tests.”
Mount, who is in his debut season in English senior football, was previously on loan with Dutch Eredivisie side Vitesse Arnhem.
During the 2017/18 season, he scored 14 goals and recorded nine assists throughout the campaign, with the highlight coming when Mount scored his first career hat-trick in a 5-2 victory against ADO Den Haag in the UEFA Europa League play-off semi-final.
He was keen to kick on this time around and says he’s grateful for the opportunity Derby and Lampard have given him.
He said: “It was massive for me to kick on from last season and continue to get games.
“I’m loving every minute on the pitch and I am grateful to be playing every week.
“I am focussed on working as hard as a I can and keep my place in the team every week.”
From a team perspective, Mount feels the Rams can still improve in the second half of the campaign.
Derby have spent the last few months in and around the division’s top six but, echoing the words of his manager, the midfielder is convinced there’s more to come from the squad.
Mount, in particular, is relishing the Rams’ upcoming games against fellow promotion rivals.
If the dramatic win at Norwich is anything to go by, the games will be enthralling encounters.
He explained: “I think we’re in a pretty good position but I still think there’s plenty more to come and that’s a good thing.
“We got ourselves in the top six at the halfway stage and that’s where we want to be and pushing to be right up there.
“We have so much that we can work on as a team to improve and we all want to do that. The last few matches have been against teams in and around us and we have a few more coming up as well.
“We all know this period is massive for us to get some points. It’s down to us to find that consistency and if we can do that then I think we’ll definitely be pushing at the top end of the table.”
