Manchester United have already seen three offers turned down this summer by Chelsea for midfielder Mason Mount.
The latest bid, football.london understands, was worth £50million plus a possible £5million in future add-ons. Chelsea, however, have said that they would only accept an offer valued at £65million – despite there being 12 months remaining on his contract at Stamford Bridge.
The last time Chelsea offered Mount an official new contract was back in February, where they put a one-year extension on the table that would have seen his salary increase significantly. However, Mount's entourage were swift in their decision to reject that. They insist their intentions are not solely money-related.
Prior to the FIFA World Cup that took place in Qatar last year, the player and club were optimistic that an agreement over an extension could be reached. Mount and Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali were involved in continuous meetings over his contract and they verbally agreed on a solution that suited all parties.
Once the World Cup was over, however, the offer was taken off the table – much to the confusion of Mount and his camp. Talks continued over a new deal and that's when he was offered a 12-month extension on his contract.
With such uncertainty over his future in west London, it was bound to attract potential suitors – and that it did. Liverpool did the most groundwork early on and emerged as front-runners for his signature. Jurgen Klopp identified Mount as the ideal profile to kickstart his midfield revamp at Anfield but when Manchester United came calling, with Champions League football and financial power to boast, the Reds cooled their interest, football.london understands.
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Arsenal also showed an interest but Mount would not consider moving to a London rival out of respect to Chelsea. So now United are the clear front-runners for the England international's signature with the player now wanting to move to Old Trafford.
Despite reports in recent days claiming United have cooled their interest in Mount and will not be putting in another bid, Chelsea are very much braced for the Red Devils' next action. Further talks between the two clubs are expected to happen this week.
Mauricio Pochettino will officially begin his role as new Chelsea head coach at the weekend when pre-season starts. There is not expected to be any issue with Mount reporting to training with his current teammates as he plans to act in a professional manner with everything going on in the background.
