Liverpool fans were admittedly surprised to see the Reds linked with a move for Chelsea’s Mason Mount earlier this week.
After all, while the 23-year-old enjoyed season-long loans with Vitesse Arnhem and Derby County earlier in his career, it's still hard to envisage the Chelsea academy graduate ever leaving Stamford Bridge in the near future.
Yet, out of contract in the summer of 2024, the England international is yet to agree terms on a new contract with Chelsea, with talks now put on hold until after the World Cup. While the club's owners have no desire to lose him, he has been in discussions with the Londoners since the summer over a new deal without a breakthrough.
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One of the lowest senior earners at Stamford Bridge, he reportedly wants a new contract to reflect his status as one of Graham Potter's star players, but proposals so far have been below his expectations with it suggested earlier this week he has turned down one seven-year offer. With Chelsea losing both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen on free transfers last summer, clubs are understandably monitoring Mount’s situation with as a result.
The Guardian claim that Mount is attracting interest from both Liverpool and Juventus, with the Reds known to be planning a midfield revamp at Anfield in 2023 in lieu of ageing stars, injury-prone players and expiring contracts. Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham is believed to be Jurgen Klopp ’s first-choice target to strengthen his engine room, though is also attracting interest from the likes of Man City and Real Madrid.
As a result, it remains to be seen if Liverpool would find themselves priced out of a move for the 19-year-old, should he leave the Bundesliga outfit. But, as a result, could his England team-mate be a potential alternative?
While Mount isn’t the same profile of midfielder as Bellingham, who is capable of playing as a number six, number eight, and number 10, he could still tick a number of Reds boxes should speculated interest turn into a move for his services.
At 23, he’s still young and will only get better. Meanwhile, he’s English so would fill a homegrown slot in Klopp’s squad - something that could become more pressing in the months ahead with the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner, Nat Phillips and Caoimhin Kellher facing uncertain long-term futures at Anfield and captain Jordan Henderson not getting any younger.
Mount’s injury-record is impeccable, with the midfield returning more than 50 appearances in each of his three full seasons with Chelsea. Meanwhile, he’s also versatile and while he’s not a deeper midfielder, he’s capable of playing as a number eight, a number 10, a false nine and on either wing.
Meanwhile, his output in front of goal is clear with the 23-year-old returning an impressive 13 goals and 16 assists last year - numbers Liverpool’s current midfield options can only dream of. And the year before, he scored a winner at Anfield in March 2021. Should Klopp sign him, he’ll be the latest example of a player being recruited after scoring against the Reds, following in the footsteps of the likes of Sadio Mane, Gini Wijnaldum, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Takumi Minamino and Darwin Nunez.
Liverpool admittedly need more than one new midfielder in 2023, with Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Naby Keita all out of contract, Arthur Melo currently due to return to Juventus following an injury-wrecked loan stint, and Fabinho set to join the likes of Henderson and Thiago Alcantara on the wrong side of 30 next year.
As a result, while not an all-rounder like Bellingham, or Wijnaldum before his move to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2021 for that matter, or an option at number six as an alternative to Fabinho, there could still be room for Mount at Anfield should he look to leave Chelsea.
In September 2019, Klopp would put a minimum price tag of £60m on Mount’s head when discussing Chelsea’s youngsters, suggesting he would cost that, ‘for sure if not more.’ Meanwhile, he's also admitted in the past that the midfielder 'will punish you' if given the chance. Three years on and you could expect his value to now be considerably more. Yet that expiring contract status could ensure he leaves Stamford Bridge for a cut-price fee.
Liverpool are no strangers to taking advantage of such opportunities in the transfer market, with any potential move for the Chelsea star perhaps similar to their signing of Oxlade-Chamberlain from Arsenal back in 2017. Then about to enter the final year of his contract, and having decided against extending his deal, the Reds brought him to Anfield for £35m.
While Mount, even with a year left on his contract, would likely cost more than that, Liverpool’s speculated attraction to him is completely understandable. He ticks so many of the boxes they look for in a midfielder, yet there would remain one rather large obstacle.
Would the midfielder really leave Chelsea? Whether the prospect of Mount, the Stamford Bridge poster boy, failing to agree a new contract and leaving the club in the next 18 months is actually realistic, that’s a different question entirely.
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