MATT BARLOW: Mason Mount was meant to be England's future
The FA Youth Cup final of 2017 produced 11 full internationals, a phenomenal ratio from a single Under-18 fixture even accounting for the aggressive nature of teenage recruitment going on at the two clubs at the time.
Manchester City and Chelsea contested the final. They have been the dominant forces at youth level over the last two decades and this proved an extraordinary year.
Chelsea, comfortable winners over two legs, featured future England stars Reece James, Marc Guehi, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Conor Gallagher and Mason Mount, while City had Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho.
Also in the City team were Brahim Diaz, Lukas Nmecha and Jeremie Frimpong, all now playing top-flight football in big European leagues and capped by elite nations, and Aro Muric, the goalkeeper who helped Burnley win promotion last season and represents Kosovo.
Foden, still only 16 at the time, and Mount were the playmakers on either side, identified as the most exciting prodigies inside their respective academies and tipped for great things.
Pep Guardiola handed Foden his City debut within six months as a late sub against Feyenoord in the Champions League and used him sparingly thereafter. Mount moved on loan at Vitesse Arnhem and then Derby County under Frank Lampard.
Both were selected for England duty at the U21 Euros in 2019, Euro 2020 and the World Cup in Qatar 2022, although their club careers unfolded at contrasting speeds.
Mount returned to Chelsea when Lampard got the manager’s job, replacing Maurizio Sarri, and with a transfer ban in place put his faith in the graduates of their acclaimed academy.
From the Championship play-off final at Wembley and a summer at the U21 Euros, Mount became an instant regular for Chelsea and England in a campaign that
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