Former Chelsea winger Shaun Wright-Phillips believes that Mason Mount can win the Ballon d'Or if he continues to progress and perform consistently for the Blues.
A product of the London club's youth academy, Mount quickly established himself as a first-team regular after breaking through and has already tasted Champions League glory, having assisted Kai Havertz's winner in the 2020-21 final against Man City.
Just 23 years old and still having the majority of his career ahead of him, Wright-Phillips sees no reason why Mount can't go on to win the most prestigious of individual honours.
'Mount can win Ballon d'Or'
In a wide-ranging interview given to Genting Casino, Wright-Phillips said: “Mount is still a young player and is still learning to be consistent.
“He's played so well and is carrying Chelsea on his shoulders and helped them get into the Champions League, but people need to remember how young he is and that he's still got a lot to learn.
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“If Chelsea were to win trophies and Mason Mount is the stand out player, there is no reason why he couldn’t win the Ballon d’Or one day.”
Lewandowski 'perfect', Dembele 'massive'
On potential signings this summer, Wright-Phillips said: “Robert Lewandowski would be the perfect replacement for Romelu Lukaku if Lukaku does leave. No matter what team he plays in, he always scores goals.”
With free agent Ousmane Dembele stalling on signing a new deal with Barcelona, he added: “Dembele is a fantastic footballer, it's just about whether his body can handle the physicality of the Premier League and if he can play a consistent run of games because he's had so many injuries.
“If Chelsea can keep him fit then he'll be a massive player for them.”
Nunez vs Haaland – who'll score more?
While Chelsea are keen to sort out their striker situation, two clubs that have no such concerns are Liverpool and Man City, who have signed Darwin Nunez and Erling Haaland respectively.
And as a former City graduate, Wright-Phillips believes Haaland will pip the Reds' new centre-forward as next season's most prolific frontman.
“I think between Darwin Nunez and Haaland, with Man City creating 10 or more chances a game, even on a bad day, [Haaland] should be rubbing his hands together.
“Nunez really suits the way Liverpool play and you can see that, because of how well both [teams] recruit, both players look to already fit perfectly into the team.
“[But] I think Haaland will win the Golden Boot. It's just a matter of how many goals he will score really. The creative players in City's team have hit double figures [for goal contributions] on a regular basis - and that's without having a player like Haaland in the team.
“Haaland is the missing piece in the Man City jigsaw and with his signing, they can win the Champions League next season.”