Who is Chelsea’s Player of the Season so far?

Cameron Smith

• 21 Dec 2021 17:23 GMT
• 4 min read

Chelsea head into Christmas sitting third in the Premier League, and despite their recent poor run of form, they have been one of the best teams in Europe so far this season.

Under Thomas Tuchel, the Blues began the campaign just liked they finished the previous one, and those early results have ensured they're still in the title fight.

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Chelsea may have slipped further behind Manchester City, but injury problems and COVID issues are almost the sole cause of that, and blame can't be directed Tuchel's way or towards their very best players.

The Blues have seen many of their stars perform well so far this campaign, but who has been their Player of the Season so far?

3. Antonio Rudiger

Thiago Silva may count himself slightly unlucky to miss out, but his fellow central defender Antonio Rudiger is deserving of this inclusion.

Sidelined by Frank Lampard, the German has come to life under Tuchel, and his form has continued from the end of last season.

Aggressive as ever, Rudiger has stepped up a level at the beginning of this campaign, and his driving runs forward add an extra dimension to Chelsea's play.

He has sometimes been rash in his judgment to explode out of the defensive shape in order to press an attacker who's dropped deep, but on the whole, Rudiger has been a stalwart at the back.

He's played the joint-most league minutes in Chelsea's squad this season, with Edouard Mendy, and has netted two goals, while also winning three penalties, all of which were converted.

2. Mason Mount

Frank Lampard's golden boy has once again proven why his former manager placed so much trust in him.

Criticised for his lack of output in the final third at the start of the season, following a fairly disappointing individual campaign at the Euros, Mount has answered those critics emphatically recently.

A hat-trick against Norwich ensured the ball started rolling, and since then, Mount has been Chelsea's most valuable player.

With seven league goals so far this season, Mount has already beaten his tally from last season, and equalled his best ever goal-scoring season in the Premier League. Not only that, but he's racked up four league assists, more than Bruno Fernandes.

In fact, the Englishman is one of just seven players in the English top flight to have registered double digits for goals and assists so far this campaign.

Underrated and over-criticised by many, this season Mount is proving just why Chelsea fans love him so much.

1. Reece James

Only two goals and assists behind Mount in the Premier League, and second on Chelsea's list of goal contributors is their Player of the Season so far - Reece James.

He may have slowed down recently, with Mount taking up the reigns, but James has been exceptional over the course of this season.

With four goals and five assists, only Trent Alexander-Arnold can better his tally of goal contributions of full-backs in the Premier League, and James has been pivotal to Chelsea's play.

His physicality, speed and technical proficiency have aided the Blues massively, and his progression from last season to this is evident for all to see.

Ben Chilwell's injury, however, has clearly affected him. With Marcos Alonso now deployed on the left, teams are simply able to shift their focus to James in the knowledge that Alonso is far less of a threat than Chilwell would be.

This has limited James' space on the right-flank, and hence seen his attacking output decrease.

But, his early season form, particularly between 23 October and 20 November, when he scored three and assisted two in four games, sees him beat off competition from Mount.