Roy Keane has labelled those criticising Mason Mount as “idiots” as he sung the Chelsea star’s praises for his “outstanding” performances for club and country.
The 22-year-old started his eighth consecutive England game for Gareth Southgate’s side as the Three Lions maintained their 100% record in the World Cup qualifiers with a 2-1 victory over Poland on Wednesday.
The midfielder has also quickly established himself as one of Thomas Tuchel’s key men at Stamford Bridge following the departure of Frank Lampard, who was accused of giving Mount preferential treatment.
READ MORE: Rating the players: England 2-1 Poland
Mount’s England selection was questioned by many fans calling for Jack Grealish and Phil Foden to start ahead of him, but Keane insists those “idiots” should be ignored.
“Well that is pretty important, that your manager likes you,” Keane said on ITV Sport. “Doesn’t matter what people outside the game think, there are a lot of idiots out there.
“Ultimately, I think the players pick the team and he has performed well enough for every manager to say ‘listen you are going to be in my starting line up’.
“Outstanding player. He wants to be an all round midfielder. I never hear anything negative about him off the pitch, he seems a brilliant young kid, he has gone out on loan he has done it the hard way.
“He is a fantastic player and I’m looking forward to seeing him tonight.”
Ian Wright added that Mount’s attitude and performances have won the trust of all of his managers.
“I like the way he has dealt with comparisons with other players,’ Wright said.
“I think he brings different things. I think Gareth trusts him like Frank trusted him and like Tuchel trusts him.
“Defensively you can trust him and offensively you can trust him. He has done everything right.
“You just hope that he can continue doing what he is doing. His attitude and everything about him seems like he is heading in the right direction.”
Mount played the full 90 minutes on Wednesday, with Harry Maguire sparing John Stones’ blushes with a late winner after the Manchester City star gave away a sloppy goal.
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