Chelsea boss Tuchel admits burnout concerns for Mount | OneFootball

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel admits he's wary of burnout for Mason Mount.

Mount has been a key player in the Chelsea side ever since he returned from loan to break into the first-team set-up under Frank Lampard at the start of the 2019/20 campaign. He has continued to be a near ever-present for Tuchel after the German took over as our head coach in January, playing more minutes than any other Blues player in all competitions last season.

"'We were very careful with him in pre-season, he did not start the game against Villarreal and then he started against Crystal Palace straight away," he said.

"Sometimes we are a bit worried but on the other side he seems to deal so good with all the minutes and all the load that he has that it's sometimes very hard to leave him out because he looks fresh, he comes with a smile.

"I would be more concerned if his face was straight and you feel some fatigue also mentally, but I don't feel it. We are happy that he's here and we will be careful like always with him."

Tuchel also admitted having a word with Mount at halftime of their Champions League defeat of Zenit.

He added: "I was not absolutely happy with everything he did.

"This is also part of the coaching, we are not only patting ourselves on the back. This is part of how we are together. If we are not happy, we tell the players what we are not happy with and then they know it. It's straightforward and he had a good second half playing in slightly different spaces."