Chelsea ready to pull plug on contract negotiations for first-team star

Chelsea have decided to sell Mason Mount if contract talks stall in the summer

According to The Athletic (subscription required), the Chelsea board have decided that they will sell Mason Mount if the new contract talks stall in the coming summer.

Mount has his contract at Stamford Bridge expiring in the summer of 2024 (Transfermarkt). The Chelsea hierarchy is in no mood to let him leave for free in 2024 if the contract extension talks do not go in the right direction at the end of this season.

As reported a few days ago, the England international has rejected the offers from the club so far as he believes he should earn at par with some of his English teammates, namely Reece James. He is currently one of the lowest-earning players in the Chelsea squad.

Granted that the 24-year-old has had a difficult season so far, it hasn’t been great from some of the highest-earners of the team as well. Moreover, he was one of the best players in the last 24 months. If the owners are forgetting that and only offering wages according to his performances of the current season, it is not a fair deal.

Mount is a versatile player who can operate as a number 10, as a false nine or as an attacking number eight, if required. We saw Graham Potter using him on the wing against Southampton and it was as bad a decision as it could get.

If the contract talks do not end well in the summer, the likes of Liverpool are keeping a close eye and may even offer a deal to the Englishman. Let’s be pretty clear that he would fit in well under the tutelage of Jurgen Klopp.

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The club shouldn’t be letting this happen. Selling one of your better assets to a direct rival will not be a good idea. The best solution would be to find a compromise and make him sign an extension here.