Ex-Kilmarnock boss Lee Clark has said that Killie tried to sign current Chelsea star Mason Mount whilst he was at the club.
Mount is currently thriving in Frank Lampard’s first-team, following a promising stint on loan at Derby County. Things could have been so different for the Stamford Bridge star though.
Thriving at Chelsea. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Former Killie boss Clark has said that Chelsea rejected the Rugby Park side’s advances for a teenage Mount whilst he was in charge.
He told Tribal Football: “Mount was part of the Chelsea FA Youth Cup winning team that I was interested in taking to Kilmarnock. I think he was only around 16, 17 at the time, but Chelsea weren’t interested in loaning him out at such a young age.
“Whether they thought Scottish football at that time was the right place for him anyway was another thing. I caught a glimpse of him when I’d been down south watching a couple of youth cup games when they went on to win the competition.
Mount was his target. (Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
“You could tell even at that age that he was going to make something of himself, he is just a fantastic player.”
What could’ve been for Mount, Chelsea and Kilmarnock
During the spell Clark wanted to bring Mount in, the youngster would have found himself playing alongside Sean Longstaff potentially, who arrived on loan from Newcastle under Clark.
When you look at how far the pair have progressed, it makes you think about what could’ve been.
A Magpies regular. (Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
Longstaff benefitted from his Killie spell and has since used it as a springboard for his Newcastle career. He was linked with a £50 million move to Manchester United earlier this summer (Daily Mail).
We’ll never know what would’ve happened with Mount and Killie. Even at an early age, Mount would’ve added attacking flair to Clark’s midfield. Clark left in February 2017, how would Mount have fared under Lee McCulloch?
We’ll never know. After a breakthrough season at Derby, Mount has scored two in three league games for Chelsea this season. He will be a big player for them in the coming years.
Mount could have been a Kilmarnock player. (Photo by Alex Burstow/Getty Images)
Just a few seasons ago though, he could have been strutting his stuff for Killie.