Playing on the streets, Soccer City and training with the club he loves: How Portsmouth made Chelsea star’s England World Cup dream

And Mason Mount is certain to be at the heart of the Three Lions’ bid for glory, as he competes on the game’s greatest stage for the first time.

Now, in a fascinating insight, the Portsmouth boy has revealed in detail how his home city has played such a crucial role in guiding him to the top of the game.

Mount was plucked from the grasp of Pompey at under-nine level, as Chelsea took the former Purbrook Park School student into their academy system after training with the Londoners from the age of six.

But the 23-year-old is clear about the impact his home city had in developing him into the player he is today.

From playing football at Soccer City at Fareham, turning out for local clubs Boarhunt Rovers and United Services to training with the Blues academy the influence of his city of birth is clear.

Then there was knocking the ball around in the street at Claremont Gardens in Purbrook, as Mount gives a detailed account of developing his football passion in Portsmouth.

In his own words, Mount told England Football: ‘My dad was a manager and a player in the past, albeit not at a very high level, but he won a lot of trophies around local football in Portsmouth, where I was born and brought up. That's where my love of the game must've come from, just watching him.

‘There’s pictures of me on the pitch after my dad’s games when I must’ve been five or six and I still have memories of just playing on the street with my friends in Portsmouth.

‘I just remember coming back from school, putting a football kit on and going out to play with friends and kicking it off the curb on the street. That’s one of the earliest memories I have really.

‘I can also remember kicking the ball around in the house, and I can still hear my mum’s voice in my head shouting at me because she was worried about me smashing things - that’s something which always sticks in my head. I hope it was worth it in the end, mum!

‘In terms of organised football, I first started out playing at a place called Soccer City in Fareham, which had an all-weather pitch. I think I was five when I first went and I just started from there and then my dad got me into a local team – called Boarhunt Rovers.

‘I played there for a year or so and then went to a club called United Services, where my dad had a team. I was playing a year up so I was six or seven and was playing in U7 or U8 tournaments.

‘And that was my first test really, playing against the older boys which is a big gap at that age as kids are more developed. That’s when I first started getting spotted by the academies, from Portsmouth, Southampton and Chelsea.

‘I was still too young to join any of them at that time so I had to wait longer and that was the starting level for me so it was very much between the three clubs at this stage.

‘I always loved going to Portsmouth and training there as it’s my club, who I support, but when I went to the other academies, you could tell the difference.

‘I was eight when I first went to Chelsea and it was every Friday that I would go up to train, so we got to know the A3 pretty well, going up and down there.’

Despite his long association with Chelsea, Mount is clear on his affinity and passion for Pompey - and has never hid that fact.

The likes of Andres D'Alessandro, Lassana Diarra, Peter Crouch were among his heroes, while Mount highlighted David Nugent as perhaps a more unlikely favourite.

He added: ‘Growing up, I was a big Portsmouth fan and I still am. So many of their players were my heroes in those days, the likes of Peter Crouch, Niko Kranjcar, Jermain Defoe, Sulley Muntari, Lassana Diarra, Kanu, there was loads.

‘Andres D’Alessandro was one of the players whose shirt I got, and I got it framed on up my wall. He was a player who I always loved when he played, even though it was only for half a season.

‘I was lucky enough to share a pitch with David Nugent at Derby when I was on loan there a few years back. He was a bit of a legend at Portsmouth and I was always a big fan and then the next minute I was playing with him.

‘It was so surreal, playing alongside him after what he’d done with my hometown club, but Nuge was such a good guy and was always speaking to me and helping me out so that was great.

‘I still try and go to watch Pompey when I can and I’ve been back a couple of times in the last few seasons. It’s not that easy because the season is so busy with Chelsea and England, but any opportunity that I get, I try to go back and watch them with my dad.

'That’s my team and I enjoy it in with the crowd. I love going to watch the games and I’ll always support them through thick and thin.’