Liverpool have leapfrogged Arsenal and Tottenham in the race to sign Mason Mount. The 24-year-old faces an increasingly uncertain future at Stamford Bridge having recently entered the final 18 months of his contract.
With Mount yet to commit his long-term future to the Blues, football.london understands that negotiations have proven difficult — so much so that he's reportedly appointed a new agent, Neil Fewings, to help resolve the saga. The midfielder is far from one of the top earners at Chelsea despite having 192 Premier League appearances under his belt and several caps for England.
If the two parties cannot reach an agreement over a new contract then Mount will leave the west London outfit for free in June 2024. In the meantime, the Cobham graduate will be available for a cut-price fee and he's already begun to attract interest from several top clubs.
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Liverpool are long admirers of Mount, while both Manchester City and Manchester United are said to be monitoring the situation, football.london understands. And, as it stands, Jurgen Klopp is primed to finally welcome his target to Anfield, according to Betfair.
Betfair have named the Merseyside outfit as favourites to sign Mount at 7/4. Arsenal are the 6/1 second-favourites to win the Englishman's signature, while Tottenham (7/1) and Man United (7/1) are other contenders.
Man City (16/1), Paris Saint-Germain (25/1) and Inter Milan (33/1) have also been tipped to sign Mount by Betfair, though they're somewhat wide of the mark. With the Chelsea ace under the spotlight in recent weeks, Graham Potter revealed that he has spoken with him about his situation.
"Ultimately it is between the club and Mason," the Blues boss said. "I have spoken to him numerous times about his situation, football, life generally.
"Like I said, my feelings for Mason are clear. I think he is a fantastic person. Sometimes these things happen, they are just complicated, and it's best that I speak a little about it and let both parties get on with it.
"I'm not naive and I know it's an important time for him, it's an important contract and these things have to be right for him and his family. It's important he makes a decision on that basis."
Then, when asked how he'll keep Mount happy, Potter said: "He's the same as everybody else; he wants to play. At the moment, he is suffering with a slight injury so he probably needs a little bit more time until he is available properly.
"He is happy around the place and wants to help the team. That is normal with Mason, no change in that. He wants to help and the team to win."
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