Chelsea want Mason Mount's future to be resolved by next week.
Mount, 24, is a transfer target for Chelsea's Premier League rivals Manchester United. The Blues have already rejected three bids from United for the England international - including their most recent offer of £55million - as they are holding out for £65m.
Mount has just a year left on his existing deal and Chelsea are willing to cash in on the midfielder this summer. Yet they do not want the transfer saga to continue rumbling on, with incoming manager Mauricio Pochettino starting work on Monday.
That is when Chelsea's pre-season campaign starts and Mount is scheduled to report back for training. Pochettino, who is preparing his team for a tour of the United States, does not want to start working with a player, only for him to be sold a week or so later.
As reported by the Daily Mail, Chelsea are eager to get Mount's future resolved before Pochettino arrives at their Cobham training ground. They will meet with United's recruitment team to thrash out a deal, expected to be worth between £55m and £65m.
United also want this situation to be resolved after what happened with Frenkie de Jong a year ago. They spent much of last summer trying to sign the Netherlands international - who played under Erik ten Hag at Ajax - from Barcelona, only for him to say no.
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And Mount will not want to be left in limbo. Chelsea's two-time Player of the Year will be eager to regain his best form after an injury-hit campaign which restricted him to just 24 Premier League appearances and saw him miss England's June internationals.
It's believed Mount's preference is a move to Old Trafford, but he has not handed in a transfer request. He is also willing to stay at Stamford Bridge and work with Pochettino if the transfer saga doesn't play out as hoped.
If Mount stays in London, it will give Chelsea more time to negotiate a new contract with him. Yet that scenario also increases the risk of the player, who graduated from Chelsea's academy before loan spells with Vitesse and Derby, leaving on a free transfer.
Mount's future has been a big talking point at Stamford Bridge for some time. Pochettino's predecessor Frank Lampard was asked about the midfielder's future last month. The departing coach said: "It's a hard one for me to comment on because I'm not inside Mason's head and from the club's point of view my role is clearly what it is.
"In the practical sense it's completely between both sides on that front. I'm not surprised because this is football. Does everyone know that I really like Mason Mount as a lad and as a football player? Yes, sure, of course they do.
"I wish him the best personally and sitting here with my Chelsea top on now, I've seen what Mason has delivered at this club. But we'll see... of course in an ideal world those players stay with the club, but again in modern football it isn't always that clear."
