Manchester United are set to win the race for Mason Mason after reportedly agreeing personal terms with the Chelsea midfielder.
The England international has entered the final year of his contract at Stamford Bridge and appeared to bid farewell to Blues supporters after the 1-1 draw against Newcastle United on the final day of the Premier League season.
A fee between Chelsea and Man United is yet to be agreed but Erik ten Hag is confident he can push the transfer over the line after moving ahead of Liverpool and Bayern Munich. Jurgen Klopp’s side held talks with the 24-year-old while Thomas Tuchel, Mount’s former manager, had weighed up a potential move.
Newcastle United, meanwhile, considered Mount and West Ham United star Declan Rice earlier this year but are unwilling to meet their wage demands.
“It’s not just the transfer fees (that are an issue), it’s also the wages,” Magpies’ head coach Eddie Howe explained. “We’re not huge players of wages in the Premier League, so the big clubs will all dwarf us in terms of that. That makes it hard to attract the very, very best players on the market.”
Chelsea’s initial asking price for Mount is set at £70million. They could yet keep the player and run the risk of losing him on a free transfer next summer.
Mauricio Pochettino was unveiled as Chelsea’s new manager earlier this week and is reported to want to keep Mount at the club. He has not played since mid-April due to injury with Chelsea enduring a poor end to the season, winning just one of their last 12 games.
Speaking about Mount’s future, interim manager Frank Lampard told Sky Sports last week that the player’s departure from Stamford Bridge this summer was likely.
“I think that’s a difficult situation. I think with Mason particularly as an individual, I don’t know what the solution’s going to be because as a club and Mason issue. I don’t know exactly where Mason is at personally – he’s got a year left on his contract.
“I know he’s held in high regard at the club, and I know well the club are trying to do what they can to make him stay, but I think also with Mason, I’d never want to stand here and talk in the modern day about what a player should do. Because they’ll see it all through their own eyes – about what’s been going on, how they feel about the pitch, what the future is for them.
“In the old days it would be ‘why are you leaving the club, you shouldn’t’. In the modern day, players move on, it’s a shame we’ve got into this situation where it looks like it’s happening maybe now.”
Mount has played 195 times for Chelsea, scoring 33 goals and providing 37 assists. He has also spent time on loan at Derby County and Vitesse Arnhem.
