Mason Mount's contract situation is something that is set to dominate football news in the coming months.
The 24-year-old sees his contract with Chelsea expire in just over 12 months' time and with the club's new ownership group looking to be a lot more ruthless when it comes to players in the final stages of their deals, we could see a decision this summer. Mount is not short of suitors, with Liverpool and both Manchester clubs keeping a close eye on his situation at Stamford Bridge.
And it's Liverpool, as football.london understands, who are the current front-runners for Mount's signature ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window. Jurgen Klopp is a long-time admirer of the Chelsea midfielder who the Reds believe they can lure to Anfield this summer following the standoff in negotiations over his contract in west London.
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It's understood Mount does not want to leave Chelsea as it stands and the feeling is mutual: the club very much want the situation to be resolved but they are both some way off in negotiations. Mount has been fairly poor this season by his own usual standards – scoring just three goals in all competitions despite playing more minutes than anyone else in the Chelsea squad other than Kai Havertz.
A lot of his football has seen him played in a front three, as one of the wide options behind the striker. But it's actually in a midfield three that he has excelled in over recent times and it's a role he much prefers, it would appear.
Speaking about his preferred position in November of last year, Mount said: "I like to think I'm a traditional midfielder even though I can play a number of roles for the team. I've always said that I'm best as a No.8 and I've played there ever since I was a young kid.
"I like to work from box-to-box, help out defensively but also get forward to score and assist goals for the team. That's where I think my strengths are. I'm versatile, so I can adapt and play higher up or a lot deeper...
"For me, in this day and age certainly, being able to play different positions is so key. You see formations change even during games and you can play two or three different roles in a game.
"It's massive to play in these different roles and it's what the manager demands of you, especially at Premier League level and obviously at international level with the World Cup coming up."
Klopp can offer Mount a slot in the No.8 role in Liverpool's first-team, something Chelsea head coach Graham Potter cannot really guarantee. Potter likes to fluctuate when it comes to what formation he fields for the Blues. Sometimes it's a 4-3-3, although it wasn't very successful when Chelsea ran with it at the beginning of the year, but more recently it has been the 3-4-2-1, with a double pivot in midfield.
In contrast, Liverpool often operate with a 4-3-3 where Mount would be one of the central midfielders either side of the No.6 and allowed to run box-to-box, something he spoke about in the interview quoted above. The Reds' midfield woes have been well documented this season and Klopp is looking to add at least two new reinforcements this summer to improve what they do in the middle of the pitch.
Liverpool's interest in Mount has stepped up and they have done some groundwork recently in order to push themselves ahead of others in the race to sign the Chelsea midfielder. The longer the saga goes on, the more Todd Boehly might be tempted to cash in on the Cobham graduate to avoid the risk of losing him on a free transfer in just over 12 months' time.
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