Mason Mount Plays Down 'Teacher's Pet' Jibe & Jack Grealish Rivalry

Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount has played down the perceived rivalry with Aston Villa star Jack Grealish over an England place and is adamant that he is no ‘teacher’s pet’, despite being well-liked by both Frank Lampard and Gareth Southgate.

Where Mount has been a feature of every England squad since the start of last season and has played nine times for the national team during that time, Grealish has struggled for recognition and was only called up for the first time in September.

Mount responded to the idea of being labelled a ‘teacher’s pet’.

“Not at all," he is quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.

“I’m a player that wants to do their best for the team and work hard. And maybe people take that the wrong way, I don’t know,”

“I know people can say good things and then people can say a lot of bad things, so I try not to look too much into it. People are always going to have an opinion. I just really think the most important people that are in your life are going to help you – listen to them and that’s what I’ve always done.”

As for the supposed ‘rivalry’ with Grealish?

“I’d never look at it as a rivalry,” Mount explained. “We are two different players and we do different things. We are two teammates who want to do the best for each other, for the team and for the country as well. We can play in different roles.

“I look at the way he’s been playing this season, he’s been unbelievable and we both want to bring that to the next three games.”

England are due to take on Republic of Ireland in a friendly at Wembley, before then travelling to Belgium in the UEFA Nations League.

However, the final Nations League game against Iceland has fallen into doubt as a result of coronavirus restrictions that will prevent the Icelandic players from arriving in England from Denmark, where they are playing their penultimate game.

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