Liverpool are reportedly monitoring Mason Mount's current situation at Chelsea, with the midfielder's contract set to expire in 2024.
It's no secret that Liverpool are in the market for a midfielder or two in the summer, with the likes of Jude Bellingham and Matheus Nunes having been strongly linked with the Reds. And now, it appears that Mount could be a target, with a report from 90min claiming Liverpool are "very keen" on the 24-year-old.
Mount has endured a tough spell at Chelsea so far this season, with the Blues struggling in all competitions and sitting 10th in the Premier League. Football.london has reported that the Blues are looking to extend the midfielder's contract, but talks have been paused until the summer for Chelsea to focus on their Premier League and Champions League campaigns.
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So, if the Reds were to sign Mount in the summer, could he solve the Reds' midfield issues? We simulated next season with Mount in Jurgen Klopp's team to find out.
We 'signed' Mason Mount for Liverpool
To set up this simulation, we used Football Manager 2023 to arrange for Mount to sign for Liverpool, linking up with the squad on July 1, 2023. We then simulated the 2023/24 season to see what sort of impact he could have.
Mount was made a regular in the Liverpool XI under Klopp, with the German trusting the Englishman in big games in the Premier League and Champions League. In his first season, the 24-year-old made 42 appearances across three competitions.
The Premier League was where he made most of his appearances, playing 30 times with just one of those appearances from the bench. A further 10 appearances were made in the Champions League and two in the FA Cup, with the Englishman scoring four and assisting one in those games.
The goal return was Mount's worst over the course of a season in his career so far, though he played a deeper role at the Reds than at Chelsea. The midfielder also averaged a rating of 7.03 per game, the third-best in the Liverpool squad.
Thiago was the best midfielder at the club in the 2023/24 season, with the Spaniard scoring five and assisting six with a rating of 7.12. Matheus Nunes was signed from Wolves and massively impressed, with the Portuguese international scoring 13, assisting five and averaging the second-best rating at the club.
Stefan Bajcetic was used more in the 2023/24 season as he made 44 appearances in all competitions, whilst Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Harvey Elliott and James Milner all averaged ratings below 7.0. At the end of the 2023/24 season, Football Manager 23 put together an overall best Liverpool XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what it looked like:
Full Liverpool best XI: (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Min-Jae, Van Dijk, Robertson; Thiago, Nunes, Mount; Salah, Firmino, Diaz.
Mount along with fellow summer signing Nunes both made the best XI, joining Thiago in a midfield three, meaning the likes of Fabinho, Bajcetic, Henderson and Elliott all missed out. Napoli defender Kim Min-Jae made the best XI after signing in January with Joel Matip going the other way, whilst Roberto Firmino and Luiz Diaz joined Mohamed Salah in the front three ahead of Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota.
Liverpool's results with Mount in the squad
The Reds improved in the Premier League during the 2023/24 season, with Klopp's side winning their first eight games of the season to top the table early on. But, a tough run of results between February and March saw Liverpool lose four league games, and they ended the season in third place.
Chelsea continued to invest in the summer transfer window as the Blues acquired Jude Bellingham and Dusan Vlahovic, and they ended up winning the Premier League title with 92 points. Man City came in second with 89 points as their 11 draws proved their downfall, whilst the Reds ended in third with 86 points, only six off the title.
A spot in the Champions League was secured though, with Arsenal finishing in fourth and Man United finishing in fifth, 16 points behind Liverpool. The Reds qualified for the 2023/24 Champions League in the simulation, and they suffered defeat at the final hurdle to familiar opposition,
Goals from Karim Benzema and Leroy Sane secured a 2-1 win for Real Madrid over Liverpool in the final in the simulation, making it the third Champions League final in six years where Los Blancos have beaten Klopp's side. The Reds did win a trophy though, with Diogo Jota scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup final.
If Liverpool were to sign Mount, Football Manager 2023 predicts that the Englishman may prove an unneeded signing, with fellow signing Matheus Nunes from Wolves proving much more efficient for the Reds. Mount's goal contribution was way lower than hoped, whilst the Reds won the Carabao Cup without the midfielder appearing in the tournament, showing that the Reds potentially may be worth looking elsewhere.
Would you like to see Liverpool sign Mason Mount? Let us know in the comments!
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