Mason Mount has given Thomas Tuchel a clearer understanding of what Chelsea must achieve in the summer transfer window. While away on international duty with England, the 23-year-old outlined his best position.
The Cobham graduate, who sees his contract at Stamford Bridge expire in two years, has started each of the Three Lions' UEFA Nations League fixtures this month following an unforgiving 53-game campaign for the Blues. In the first of three appearances, Mount operated on the left-wing before featuring in a central role for the next two.
And, this is where the Chelsea midfielder thinks he is best suited - the No. 10 role. Speaking after Gareth Southgate led England to a goalless draw against Italy at Molineux on Saturday night, Mount said: "It gave me more freedom to roam, try and find spaces and try to link the midfield to the attacking boys, I found myself in space a couple of times to shoot but I didn’t do well enough.
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"It was too easy for the ‘keeper, I needed to look for the corners and yeah, it is a difficult one to take because I feel as though we could have come away from the game with more and we are frustrated with the performance."
Mount's admission comes amid Tuchel's eagerness to rebuild and bolster the Chelsea starting XI this summer. The Blues have been heavily linked to several forwards including Christopher Nkunku and Ousmane Dembele, with either likely to challenge for the Englishman's position in the front three if a deal were to materialise.
football.london first reported Chelsea's interest in Nkunku back in April and their stance has not changed. The France international, who according to CIES Football Observatory is valued at around £76million, is wanted by the Blues, but RB Leipzig are currently locked in negotiations with their attacker over a new deal to keep him at the club.
Meanwhile, Dembele is set to become a free agent when his contract at Barcelona expires at the end of the month. football.london understands there have been positive signals coming out of the Frenchman's camp regarding a move to Chelsea this summer.
So, should Todd Boehly take Mount's claim on board, Tuchel's rebuild may focus on the arrivals of defenders this summer. Speaking to football.london last month, the Blues boss said: "We are rebuilding, not improving the squad. We are rebuilding. This is always challenging, but we are up for the challenge.
"I don't know where we are from day one. What I can promise is that I will be here – if I can promise that – I will be here with full energy and positive energy no matter what. We will still work for Chelsea, and I refuse to think of negative scenarios. We will be competitive, on which level we will see."
