Chelsea interim boss Frank Lampard believes Mason Mount will 'go even further' in his career amid speculation linking him with a summer move to Liverpool.
Mount’s Chelsea contract expires next summer and, as it stands, the two parties are no closer to reaching an agreement over an extension. The midfielder’s representatives, it is claimed, want a contract that reflects his significance to the club.
Liverpool are known admirers of the player who, aged 24 and qualifying as a homegrown player, fits the profile required by both Fenway Sports Group and the recruitment team as they look to overhaul Jurgen Klopp's engine room in the summer.
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Mount returned to action for Chelsea on Wednesday evening for their Champions League quarter-final first-leg clash against Real Madrid as he continues his recovery from a pelvis injury. And Lampard believes the England international will go on and get even better in his career.
"I'm not going to tell anyone what opinion they should have on football but if anyone thinks Mason Mount is not already a top level player then I'm not sure what they're seeing, in my opinion," Lampard said.
"Form is one thing that people can debate. There's players now that get debated about more than we were in my career. It's partly social media.
“But from working with Mason, you can ask myself, you can ask Thomas Tuchel, you can ask Gareth Southgate, you can ask Graham Potter: it's clear he's a top player.
"He's had his small injury problem. He felt okay in the game the other day. I thought he did as good a job as he could with him and Conor [Gallagher] coming in to help us close out a game with 10 men.
"I think there's a little process over the next game or two of getting Mason to where we want him to be. Fingers crossed the injury's fine.
“But he's a top player and a top lad. And he does have a big affiliation with the club. One thing I know about Mason, the first thing a top player should have is a real hunger to succeed and play and do well for Chelsea and he's had that since the first day I took him to Derby.
“That's simple for me. He's still a young player. He can go even further but he's already a top player."
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