John Terry’s prediction from 2021 about a former Chelsea player has aged pretty terribly.
Even though 2021 was only a few years ago, so much has changed at Chelsea.
For starters, the ship is now being steered by different Blues owners after their takeover at Stamford Bridge in 2022.
A big point of difference is that the transfer focus has shifted towards signing youngsters as a priority, which has left them with a very inexperienced squad. Todd Boehly’s view on Chelsea’s squad is he wants a mixture of youth and know-how, so will the Blues co-owner get his wish?
On top of that, a number of managers have come and gone in recent seasons. Head coach Enzo Maresca is the current man in the dugout trying to achieve success.
Photo by Neil Hall - Pool/Getty Images
Photo by Neil Hall – Pool/Getty Images
John Terry once tipped Mason Mount to become Chelsea and England captain
If you rewind a few years ago, Mason Mount was the poster boy at Chelsea and an England regular.
Back in February 2021, John Terry predicted that Mount would go on to wear the captain’s armband for both club and country.
Terry said, as quoted by The Sun: “Mason Mount is 100 per cent future Chelsea captain.
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“He’s been the best player at Chelsea this season to be honest. He’s a great lad, trains unbelievably well, is Chelsea through and through and shows leadership qualities. In my mind he’ll be Chelsea and England captain.”
The currently reality is that Mount, 26, no longer plays in Chelsea colours. On top of that, the playmaker has not been involved with the England national team since 2022. Therefore, we can’t imagine Terry’s prediction ever coming true.
Mount’s valuation has plummeted since leaving Chelsea to sign for Manchester United in 2023.
Chelsea wanted to generate income by Mount’s sale a couple of years ago. The fact that he’s a product of the Blues academy acted as an extra incentive.
Photo by Michael Regan - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
Photo by Michael Regan – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
What’s happened to Mason Mount?
Mount was extremely durable and so consistent as a Chelsea star. In contrast, his time at Old Trafford as a Man Utd player has been stop-start due to frequent injury problems in his first two seasons.
Club Appearance Goals Assists
Chelsea 195 33 35
Manchester United 32 1 1
Mason Mount statistics via Transfermarkt
In terms of Mount’s international career, the last time he was involved in an England squad was the 2022 World Cup, which took place in December of that year in Qatar.
The attacking midfielder would have to perform quite the U-turn with Man Utd to get back into the conversation for representing his country again.
While Mount does have 36 England caps to his name, he’d now face competition from the likes of Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Eberechi Eze and Morgan Rogers for a spot in the national team squad.