Dennis Wise admits he would have hated playing against Mason Mount and backed the Chelsea academy product to go on to captain the club.
Wise skippered the Blues in the 1990s before handing the captaincy to John Terry, who in turn passed it to Gary Cahill and on to current skipper Cesar Azpilicueta.
Azpilicueta will lead Mount and Chelsea out at Wembley in the FA Cup on Saturday and in the Champions League final two weeks later.
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But Wise claims Mount will one day get the chance to wear the captain’s armband, given both his standing at the club and ability as a footballer.
Wise told The Sun: “He should be the next captain. He is a Chelsea boy, he has been there from a young age.
“He knows the club inside out, the personnel and he loves it – a bit like John Terry. Mason would be perfect.
“It will make him a lot more mature as a person. He is the type that will like that and added responsibility will take him to the next level.
“And I have to say the next level for him will be very, very high.
“He enjoys himself and people respect the way he plays. I have met him. You can tell where he has grown up.
“You see the character in the ones that care. A deepness within. They know the canteen lady over the other side of the training ground. The kit man at the other building, the receptionist. It’s that kind of a scenario.
“I can imagine him going back to the academy and sitting with the boys there.
“All he needs now is experience. The players alongside him have won World Cups so you will only gain from them every day. He is gathering information every day.
“As a player he is good with his left, good with his right, he has pace, he knows when to run in behind. Pass it, dribble, can head it.
“Now it’s about what level is he going to go to? He is in the England squad so ‘can you win us the European Championship?’
“For Chelsea can he win them the FA Cup, the Champions League? You’re at the place where they will compete for them. Can he go to the next level? Yes he can but that takes time.”
Mount would be a very different captain to Wise, who was a combative midfielder that led Chelsea to two FA Cup wins and the European Cup Winners Cup.
Wise added: “I tried to play with a smile. Well, sometimes a smile and sometimes a growl.
“People would say they wouldn’t like to play against me, Patrick Vieira, Roy Keane, Vinny Jones. They say we’re horrible.
“But players like Mason hurt you in a different way. People say they would love to play against Gianfranco Zola because he is a lovely guy.
“Trust me you wouldn’t because he would run the backside out of you and you’d hate it.
“I hated playing against Paul Scholes. Not because he was aggressive, I just couldn’t get near him. He was frustrating to play against because was so clever.
“Likewise, Mount is horrible because he puts you on the back foot, runs this way, that way, drops short. He would have annoyed me.
“You look one way and ‘boom!’ He has gone and you think ‘s***’.
“Everyone has known since he was 15 that Mason would make it and he has taken his opportunity.
“He is very aggressive with running with the ball at you. He is a real talent. But he also pops up at the right time.
“Sometimes you don’t have a great game but you’re the one who pops up to create something. That tells you something about that person. He keeps going and has a real passion and desire.
“There’s an inner strength from him to play like that and still enjoy it. He thrives on it.”
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