When Frank Lampard called his Derby County transfer a "massive coup", he was proved right | OneFootball

Few can argue with Frank Lampard’s assessment of Mason Mount looking back

Back in 2018, Frank Lampard was embarking on the start of his managerial career with Derby County, coming off the back of a close association with Chelsea throughout his playing career.

The legendary figure that he is at Stamford Bridge, he had connections at the Premier League like no other.

That not only likely allowed him greater leeway in negotiations and getting deals over the line, but also a deep knowledge of the best young players emerging from Chelsea’s academy, Cobham.

Those factors combined to produce a loan move for little-known midfielder Mason Mount - and what a move it turned out to be.

Frank Lampard knew exactly what he was getting with Mason Mount

Derby announced season-long loan deals for Mount and Liverpool’s Harry Wilson on the same day in 2018. Lampard already knew all about the former.

Speaking to Derby’s official website, Lampard said: “I know Mason really well from my Chelsea links and I have also watched him play in their very successful youth teams.

“His numbers are incredible for an attacking midfield player of his age and it’s a massive coup for me to get him here.

“He can bring us creativity in the attacking midfield area, goals, assists as well as energy. He was wanted across Europe by top, top, clubs and we should be very happy that we have got him.”

Mason Mount didn’t let Frank Lampard down at Derby County

That was high praise for a player who, up until that stage, only had a promising loan spell with Dutch side Vitesse under his belt.

With the strong Chelsea links, had the move gone wrong, it could easily have come across as clueless club bias from Lampard. But it couldn’t have gone much better.

Despite battling a couple of minor injuries, he turned out 44 times in all competitions for the Rams that season, netting 11 goals and providing six assists from midfield.

His contributions, in part, led Derby all the way to the play-off final, where they were narrowly edged out by a strong Aston Villa side.

It was a tough note to end the season, but Mount’s impact was undeniable.

Derby soon had to wave goodbye to Frank Lampard and Mason Mount, but they had a great part of their development

Knowing that Mount was on loan, and seeing how well he’d performed in his first senior season in English football, few would have held out hopes of stopping Mount returning to his parent club at Stamford Bridge.

What many won’t have expected, however, is Lampard to follow him out of the door.

The Blues had opted to dispense with the services of former boss Maurizio Sarri, and when the opportunity to fill the vacancy was presented to Lampard, it proved too alluring for Lampard.

He, of course, now had Mount at his disposal once again, and the young midfielder stepped up to the higher level, this time racking up 53 appearances in all competitions, scoring eight goals and providing six assists, most of his goal contributions coming in the Premier League.

Lampard clearly knew what he was talking about when he welcomed Mount to Pride Park, but, in different ways, the two men will look back to Derby with fondness for the important role that season played in launching different stages of their football careers.