Frank Lampard remained coy when he was asked whether or not Mason Mount will play for Chelsea again. The 24-year-old midfielder has been heavily linked with an exit from Stamford Bridge recently, with his contract set to expire at the end of next season.
football.london understands that the Blues have been in conversation with Mount over a new deal for months now, and they recently reopened talks. It's said that negotiations have proven difficult thus far with the proposed length of contract and wage packet an issue.
The England international is far from one of the top earners at Cobham despite chalking up nearly 200 appearances for the club. With Mauricio Pochettino expected to replace Frank Lampard this summer, football.london understands that the Argentine is a big fan of Mount and he's set to play a major role in the showdown talks.
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If the former Tottenham boss cannot work his magic and an agreement isn't reached then the Chelsea star will become a free agent in June 2024 and, until then, be available for a cut-price fee. It's believed that Liverpool are long admirers of Mount, while Manchester City and Manchester United are also thought to be keeping tabs the situation.
With plenty of speculation regarding the Englishman's future, Lampard has been asked – again – for his verdict on the saga. Ahead of the Blues' clash against the Red Devils on Thursday night, the 44-year-old was asked if Mount has already played his final game for the club.
While the midfielder has recently returned to training, he's expected to miss the remainder of the campaign following an operation on a pelvic injury. With a frown, Lampard said: "It's not my answer to make, it's between Mason and the club."
At the end of last month, the caretaker Chelsea manager was posed a similar question. Before the Blues' game against Brentford, Lampard was asked if there was a solution to the stand-off to which he replied: "Yes, but at this point it’s not my opinion that will be the resolution.
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"It will be the opinion of the club and the opinion of Mason, so that’s between them. I think my opinion’s pretty clear, I don’t need to spell it out what I think of Mason as a player, but it’s not my one to get into, that’s between them."
Then, when quizzed on Mount's disappointing form, Lampard leapt to his defence. He added: "I think form for a young player, people can analyse and question form, but you can very quickly forget the consistency that Mason’s shown in the period since he’d broken through.
"I’ve been a big part of that, in the beginning and he carried on after I left, for his country as well. Then you forget how young he is because he’s so mature as a player that all his managers have trusted him so much.
"So I think if there was a drop in form, it’s more than understandable and I think every player has it, especially in the developing years. But there’s no doubt Mason is a top-class player and what he brings the team in and out of possession.
"Form will always waver slightly but the top players manager to gain great consistency and he’s been Chelsea Player of the Year in a couple of seasons with a lot of top players around him… People think it’s easy to play with top players around you. It’s not easy and he’s managed to do that."
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