If Todd Boehly is unsure as to whether or not Chelsea should sell Mason Mount then the American billionaire should heed Lionel Messi's rave review. The 24-year-old midfielder faces an increasingly uncertain future at Stamford Bridge with his contract set to expire at the end of next season.
One of Boehly's priorities after taking the helm last year was to tie Mount down to a long-term deal, football.london understands. But, it's said that negotiations have proven difficult thus far with the proposed length of contract and wage packet an issue.
Mount is far from one of the top earners at Chelsea despite racking up nearly 200 appearances for the club. It is understood that the Cobham graduate wants to stay at his boyhood club, though the feeling is mutual that both parties are still some way off an agreement.
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If an agreement cannot be reached then Mount will be become a free agent in June 2024. In the meantime, football.london understands that Liverpool are long-term admirers of the midfielder, while Manchester City and Manchester United are also thought to be keeping tabs on the saga.
If the abundance of interest from Chelsea's rivals isn't enough to convince Boehly that Mount's demands should be met then maybe Messi's words of wisdom might do the trick.
In an interview with Topps three-years ago, the Paris Saint-Germain star was asked to named the most exciting young players in the world. As quoted by talkSPORT, Messi replied: "Having watched [Mount] play he has the potential to be one of the best."
Then, when made aware of the Argentine's comments, Mount was lost for words. In a video with UMM a year later, the Chelsea midfielder said: "When you see and read something like that, it gives you the motivation to just want to get better and better. Hopefully I can do that."
While Mount has struggled for form recently, the England international has certainly proven his worth to the club for years to come. Speaking ahead of the Blues clash against Brentford last month, Frank Lampard explained his stance on the contract saga.
When asked if there's a solution to the stand-off, the caretaker boss replied: "Yes, but at this point it’s not my opinion that will be the resolution. 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."
Mount is expected to miss the remainder of the campaign through injury so he won't be able to prove himself again until pre-season. Therefore, Boehly must decide whether or not he listens to the advice of Lampard and Messi – two of the sport's all-time greats.
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