sport news Jack Grealish-Mason Mount: Who will be England's go-to creative midfielder? trends now
Back in November 2020, Gareth Southgate was able to laugh about 'memes' made to poke fun at his adoration for midfielder Mason Mount.
The Chelsea star has been nurtured and followed through England's ranks by Southgate and, to be frank, Mount has never let the Three Lions down when called upon.
He has 29 caps to date, Southgate as a person is fiercely loyal to those who deliver for him and 'memes' soon became popular, after he answered a question about Jack Grealish by discussing Mount.
'I suppose on that you're referring to Mason, whose only crime is not to be Jack at the moment,' Southgate joked.
'I'm also aware I should talk about Mason because then it keeps the memes going of me talking about Mason,' Southgate light-heartedly added.
It was a light-hearted quip with many Aston Villa fans irritated at Grealish's lack of minutes in comparison to Mount. Now, the England boss will find himself shuffling much more uncomfortably as calls grow louder to propel Grealish in front of Mount.
Mason Mount (right) was once again replaced by Jack Grealish (middle) on England duty
Gareth Southgate (middle) will soon be fielding calls for Grealish to start ahead of Mount
Returning to a tried-and-tested 4-2-3-1 it was once again Mount who got the start behind Harry Kane. He, too, started the 1-0 defeat to Hungary, playing wide left of Kane in a 3-4-3 system.
Caps No 28 and No 29 proved to be underwhelming for Mount, although many have fallen short of their levels in the last two games, given the tired legs piling up at the end of a long season.
But it is becoming inescapable that Southgate, as much as he is a fan of Mount, is simply not extracting the most out of him.
Not since November 2020 has he scored for his country and reflecting back on the European Championships, the last major tournament to use as a point of reference, he managed just one assist across five games.
This is not to bash Mount, who has emerged through Chelsea's academy and into their first team as a fine player under Frank Lampard and now Thomas Tuchel.
But five months out from the World Cup in Qatar, Southgate is going to come under increasing pressure to turn to Grealish in a bid to spark life into his attack - at the expense of Mount.
Not that either player agree a decision needs to be made.
'I'd never look at it as a rivalry,' Mount said after a routine win over Republic of Ireland in 2020.
'We are two different players and we do different things. We are kind of different players. We can play in different roles.
'Jack? You know what he can do. He's a world-class player that can create and score goals and that's what we need in any England team. There are different players in this squad who can play in different positions.'
Mount (right) was also replaced by Grealish in Hungary, with the two seemingly an either-or
And Grealish, does he agree? You bet he does.
'I love Mason,' he said.
'It's a bit annoying actually because he probably gets a little bit of stick at times from it, but I've always been close with Mason, I think he's an absolutely terrific player.
'I don't even think we're really fighting for the same spot to be honest.
'Like I said, I think Mason's underrated and he deserves all the credit he gets. I think people that know
