Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount is thought to have snubbed yet another contract offer from those at the top of the Stamford Bridge hierarchy.
As per the Daily Mail, Mount reportedly declined the offer just before jetting off to Qatar with the Three Lions on World Cup duty in what was a strategic gamble from the player and his camp. If the 23-year-old enjoys a stellar tournament with England, he could drastically increase his worth and price tag while sparking a flurry of interest from elsewhere.
Chelsea have agreed to pause negotiations for the duration of the tournament, but it seems as if an agreement is still some way off given how far apart the two parties are in terms of their valuation.
Mount has endured a mixed tournament so far, after shining in England's opening game in their rampant 6-2 win over Iran. However, he came in for some criticism in the aftermath of the 0-0 draw with the USA on match-day two, with plenty of fans claiming he should have been replaced by Manchester City star Phil Foden.
The midfielder's representatives have rejected the £200,000-per-week offered and are rumoured to be holding out for the kind of figures Raheem Sterling has pocketed since joining in the summer. The forward is thought to have been given a £300,000-a-week deal.
Chelsea are yet to put forward an offer even close to that sum, but had initially been confident of extending Mount's stay in a similar fashion to how they secured Reece James' future.
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The right-back was quick to pen a new deal worth £250,000 a week, but Mount clearly isn't quite as keen to sign anything in a hurry.
Those overseeing things at Stamford Bridge are growing concerned by Mount's stalling, as the England star has just 18 months left to run on his Chelsea deal before he could walk away from the west London outfit.
With each month that passes, if Mount's contract situation remains unresolved fears are likely to grow over where his club future lies.
Though Mount is one of the favourites among the Stamford Bridge faithful, he remains one of the lowest paid players in the Chelsea squad on £85,000 a week.
This is because of the fact that Mount hasn't signed a deal at Chelsea since he first returned to the Blues from his loan-spell away at Derby County three years ago.
At that time, Mount had yet to force his way into the Chelsea first-team and establish himself as a Blues regular.
