Although some may have disagreed with Mason Mount being named Chelsea's player of the season for 2021/22, the second consecutive award for the Cobham graduate reflected his importance to the current team in the eyes of supporters.
Mount is undeniably one of Chelsea's most valuable and consistent players. His growth since his 2019 breakthrough has been incredible and tieing him down to a new contract this summer would be as impactful as any new signing. That is the urgent challenge for Todd Boehly as the 23-year-old reportedly awaits fresh talks over his future.
The midfielder is one of few players, particularly in the attacking area, that fans can hold up as truly meeting or exceeding expectations and that is an issue. Mount's level of consistency and influence is as much positive as it is a negative because it symbolises how few of those Thomas Tuchel has within the current squad.
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With the exit of Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid, you are probably looking towards Thiago Silva, Mateo Kovacic and Reece James for names that fit into the same bracket as Mount based on the last season. N'Golo Kante, Jorginho, Kai Havertz and others still provided strong displays but were nowhere near the conversation for the player of the season.
It was this time last year when the need for others to carry the weight of responsibility alongside Mount was clear. Whilst defensively Rudiger, Silva and Edouard Mendy remained trusted members of the first team, it was those around Mount who continued to lag behind, rising and dipping with their own displays.
It now means that when analysing the attack on its own, a lot of names blend into one group, with Mount the clear exception reaching double figures in goals and assists across the season, proving to be the Blues' highest league goalscorer in 2021/22.
Whether Chelsea can recruit fresh names to lessen the burden on Mount remains to be seen, Ousmane Dembele could certainly offer creativity. Though it is worth noting the assumptions made that the arrival of Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech in 2020 would cause Mount to drop to the bench, when two years later, Mount is the only name I'd confidently put forward in an attack on the opening day of next season.
The reliance on a youngster like Mount has not seemed to overwhelm him, actually encourage him, consistently stepping up in big moments to dig the team out, score a defining goal or play a game-changing pass in a major final. Though with Mount's clear importance to Chelsea, it has become quite easy for the opposition to gauge where they should turn their attention to when trying to stifle Tuchel's attack.
Something Frank Lampard knew very well and put in place in the defeat to Everton, consistently overcrowding Mount and suffocating the space for a pass to be played into the feet of Mount before he can perform a trademark half-turn and get Chelsea moving.
Given many of our conversations around Chelsea players asks whether they are worth persisting with, the complete opposite feeling to Mount demonstrates why it is on individuals to step up in 2023.
