Chelsea will reportedly seek a transfer fee of £70million from clubs keen on signing Mason Mount this summer. Todd Boehly and Co. risk losing the highly sought-after midfielder for free in 12 months' time if they fail to agree to a contract extension or sanction an exit at the end of this season.
A combination of the proposed length of contract and wage packet on offer is proving to be an issue over extending the 24-year-old's deal as the two parties remain some distance apart. Mount has also seen his importance in the side diminish as this campaign has drawn on, as his once undroppable status appears to be waning with the club continuing to go through an overhaul of the playing staff.
As such, he could be identified as one member of the squad permitted to depart to allow Chelsea to recoup some much-needed funds this summer. This comes after the club's recent financial report showed a loss of £121million for the 2021/22 season, leaving the Blues in a precarious situation when in comes to meeting financial fair play regulations.
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Amid concern over whether they could be in breach of the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules, Chelsea believe they will be able to demand a fee of £70million for Mount, despite only having a year left on his deal, according to the Athletic. The club will be hoping to ignite a bidding war as a plethora of elite European clubs are said to be interested.
football.london understands that Liverpool are long-term admirers of the midfielder, and the Reds are thought to be at the front of an increasingly-growing queue. Jurgen Klopp is in dire need of a revamp of his midfield options with Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all due to be out of contract once this campaign concludes.
Premier League competition comes in the former of Manchester United, Manchester City, Newcastle United and Tottenham, while Juventus and Bayern Munich have also been linked. The latter were added to the list of potential destinations after former Blues boss Thomas Tuchel walked through the door at the Allianz Arena, with the German reportedly keen on a reunion with his 2021 Champions League winning midfielder.
As Mount agreed his current deal in 2019, when he was entering Chelsea's first-team set-up for the first time, his salary - comfortably below £100,000 per week - reflects his lack of experience at the time. Since then, he would have seen countless players walk through the Cobham doors earning a wage which would have dwarfed Mount's, despite establishing himself as one of the team's core cogs.
Co-owners Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have held numerous discussions with Mount's representatives, but talks have since stalled as the Mount camp have rejected several offers made by the Blues hierarchy. Contrary to various reports, it's said the Cobham graduate wants to stay at his boyhood club, but the feeling is mutual that either party is some way off an agreement, as it stands.
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