Mason Mount's expected transfer to Man United has raised eyebrows, with the 24-year-old set to leave Stamford Bridge just two years after winning the Champions League with his boyhood club.
Joining the club in 2005 as a six-year-old, he progressed through the ranks to eventually become a key player for the first team. It was Frank Lampard who handed him his breakthrough in 2019, with Thomas Tuchel later becoming an admirer of his talents as he established an important role for the club.
This culminated in a Champions League triumph in 2021, with his assist for Kai Havertz proving crucial as the Blues became European Champions for a second time. Things looked bright for the then 22-year-old, but two years later he is set to leave and join Man United in a £60 million deal, leaving fans wondering: Where did things go wrong?
A number of factors are revealed to have contributed to this, with the Daily Mail reporting that the club's change of ownership was a key influence towards a new deal failing to have been agreed last year.
Former club director Marina Granovskaia was believed to be negotiating a new deal for the 24-year-old, with talks progressing well. However, sanctions were imposed on Roman Abramovich due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in March.
This halted negotiations, with the club unable to commit to new contracts ahead of a change in ownership, as Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital's takeover prompted a change in approach. This led to a new team negotiating deals at board level, with Boehly appointing Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart as his chief negotiators for such deals.
Chelsea's form dipped last season, with Mount reported to have rejected three offers of a new contract during the course of the campaign - two new deals were proposed before the World Cup and one after. A reported £200,000 deal was proposed to the midfielder, which was rejected - a clear sign of intent from the Portsmouth-born star.
This reportedly led to the midfielder feeling somewhat undervalued due to the nature of his previous performances, in contrast to Chelsea's proposals. Mount's form dipped amid the off-field uncertainty throughout the season, with the back-to-back Chelsea Player of the Year from 2020–21 & 2021–22 struggling to match the performances of his early Blues career.
Mount's love of the club has never been in question, with Frank Lampard outlining his value as it became apparent an exit could be on the cards.
He said when asked about his chances of a new deal: "I don’t know the answer to that, it’s a conversation between Mason and the club, so I don’t know. It’s not final at this point and we’ll have to see because those conversations are ongoing.
"It’s a shame for me personally because I think everyone knows how I feel about working with Mason and I like to think he feels the same about me, and we could have done with him in the games we’ve played already this season.
"But the bigger picture is something that’s going to become clearer in the next weeks and months, and that will be the club and Mason together having conversations."
This left Chelsea starting the summer with one of their prized assets entering the final year of a contract, without the ability to offer Champions League football. For this reason, they had to cash-in, with the club's on-pitch troubles and FFP pressures having a knock-on affect in terms of players departing. Mateo Kovacic has been sold to Manchester City for £25m in similar circumstances.
A £60m deal therefore represents a strong return on a player who became one of the few to graduate to the first-team from the club's academy in the past 20 years.
United will be signing a player who, at 24, has already won 36 England caps, with his tactical versatility and quality valued by a succession of coaches for both club and country.
