5 Players who could flourish at Chelsea due to their transfer ban

#2 Mason Mount

After performing well at Derby, Mason Mount deserves a shot at Chelsea's first team

Seen by many observers as one of the most talented youngsters to be produced by Chelsea’s academy in years – and that’s high praise considering the young talent they’ve developed – Mason Mount is currently on loan at Derby County, where he began the season in excellent form under Chelsea legend Frank Lampard. He played so well in the Championship in fact that he was rewarded with a call-up to the England senior squad in October, although he did not actually appear in the games against Spain and Croatia.

Mount has appeared in 26 of Derby’s 33 league games, with only a couple of injuries to his hamstring and foot keeping him out of the side – when he’s played, he’s always been in Lampard’s starting XI. Thus far he’s scored 4 goals and contributed 2 assists, and notably had an excellent game in the EFL Cup tie against Manchester United that ended 2-2 – the game went to penalties and Mount scored his kick as Derby won 10-9.

At times Mount hasn’t looked quite ready for Premier League action – at 20 years old he’s still physically growing and would need to be at the forefront of games more consistently to make an impact at the very top level – but it’s clear that the potential is there and he’s definitely ready for a spot in the Blues’ Premier League squad.

With Chelsea relatively short on central midfielders – particularly those as creative as Mount – now that Cesc Fabregas has left the club, there’s no reason why the youngster can’t thrive next season. Chelsea won’t be able to bring in any new talent meaning he’d be competing with the likes of Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek for his spot – and that sounds like a chance Mount could capitalise on.