Ben Chilwell comforted a visibly emotional Mason Mount following Chelsea's draw against Newcastle United. The 24-year-old midfielder has been heavily linked with an exit from Stamford Bridge recently having entered the final 12 months of his contract.
football.london understands that the Blues have been in talks with Mount over a new deal for a while now, but they've only recently reopened negotiations. It's said that conversations have been complicated, with the proposed length of contract and wage packet proving to be an issue.
The England international is far from a top earner at Cobham despite notching nearly 200 appearances for the club. If an agreement isn't reached then Mount will become a free agent in June 2024 and, until then, he'll be on the market for a cut-price fee.
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With a move well on the cards, football.london understands that Liverpool are long admirers of the midfielder – as are Manchester United and Manchester City. While there hasn't been an official announcement declaring Mount's future, his reaction at full-time on Sunday afternoon was very telling.
After the final whistle brought an end to a miserable season for Chelsea, he seemed to well up. Mount was quickly comforted by Chilwell, who put his arm around his teammate and friend, suggesting that he could be on the move this summer – unless he was devastated that the Blues failed to win against Newcastle!
Ahead of Chelsea's clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Thursday night, Frank Lampard conceded that he doesn't know the solution to keeping Mount in west London. Speaking to Sky Sports, the Blues' caretaker boss said: "I think that’s a difficult situation because from working with Mason - and not just Mason, other players when I was here before - they have either gone on to be really important players for the club that have a real relationship with the fans because they really feel the club, having been in the academy since eight years of age, and some of them have gone on to other clubs and the club have done well out of that and you wish them well in their careers.
"I think with Mason particularly as an individual, I don’t know what the solution is going to be because it’s the club and Mason’s issue. I don’t know where exactly Mason is at personally, he’s got a year left on his contract.
"I know he’s held in high regard at the club and I know the club are trying to do what they can to make him stay, but I also think that Mason, I’d never want to stand here in the modern day and talk about what a player should do because they’ll see it all from their own eyes. I think in the old days it would be why are you leaving the club? In the modern day it’s you should move on, and we’ve got into this situation that is happening now."
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