In the past couple of seasons, there has been a growing trend for some of the best young British talent to opt for a move overseas to better help their development.

 

Whether on loan or permanently, several have decided that spending time on foreign shores is the ideal way to continue to grow as players.

 

The promising West Ham defender Reece Oxford is currently on loan with Borussia Dortmund, while Jadon Sancho chose to leave Manchester City to sign a long-term deal in Germany with Borussia Dortmund.

 

Rising Scottish youngster Oliver Burke spent a year in the Bundesliga with Red Bull Leipzig before joining West Brom, while Chris Willock chose to reject a deal with Arsenal to sign a five-year contract at Benfica.

 

Making the switch abroad is no longer a frightening prospect for promising players. In fact, it offers plenty of advantages such as learning new methods – and quite simply, the chance to play regular first team football at a senior level.

 

For Mason Mount, such a move to Vitesse Arnheim has proven to be an emphatic success.

 

The 19-year-old has been nurtured through the ever impressive academy system at Chelsea since primary school age, a regular for England at age group level and one of the inspirations of the nation’s European under-19 Championship victory last year.

 

Having captained the Blues to the FA Youth Cup last season, and been a regular in the development squad for two years, Mount has been earmarked as a player with a genuine opportunity to shine in the Premier League.

 

Yet at the start of this season he was presented with a choice – continue playing with the under-23 side or spend his first year in senior football on loan with Vitesse.

 

For the teenager, there was little to think about. “I had the option to come here or stay at Chelsea and play under-23s for another season,” he said.

 

“I was quite young to come on loan to another country, but this has definitely been a massive experience for me, I have learnt so much. This is men’s football, you learn something every day.

 

“The league is very technical, the games are very tactical. For me, I like to play football, I like to be on the ball so that suits me a lot.

 

“For me to have my first season in men’s football, this move has suited me and does very well to introduce me.

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“Definitely the experience I have gained is very valuable, for a player of my age as well coming away.

 

“We kind of got a little hint that maybe this would happen a year before I came out to Holland, this was when I was playing under-23s at Chelsea last year.

 

“I had a hint that maybe this year I would be going away on loan, and obviously there is a strong link between Chelsea and Vitesse this was one of the main options.

 

“To get ready for going out on loan to another country, I started staying in my own place in Cobham, learning how to look after myself in a flat.

 

“I knew this opportunity might arise so that helped just getting ready for it, and that has helped a lot as now I’m here on my own and obviously you need to be able to look after yourself.

 

“This is men’s football so you need to grow up very quickly. That last year at Chelsea definitely got me ready so I knew what to expect.

“It all starts as a young boy at Chelsea, they set you up for everything. It’s been the best decision I have made from a young age, you learn the most and it has set me up perfectly.”

 

Since making the move, Mount has gone from strength to strength and is making such a big impact in Eredivisie he was voted the league’s player of the month for January.