“Strengthening one of their rivals”- Todd Boehly urged to keep key midfield duo at Chelsea next season

Paul Merson urges Todd Boehly to hold onto Mason Mount and N’Golo Kante at Chelsea

Writing in his column on Sportskeeda (h/t football.london), Arsenal legend Paul Merson has called upon Todd Boehly to ensure that midfield stars Mason Mount and N’Golo Kante are still at the club come the 2023/24 season.

With no European football and a bloated squad to boot, the Blues face a tricky summer transfer window both in terms of recruitment and roster management. Boehly’s extravagant splurges in the last two transfer windows have yielded little fruit and there is much work to be done in the years to come.

Mauricio Pochettino will have his work cut out to make Chelsea challenge for the top prizes once again but cannot do so without the best players at the club. The Argentine will need to ensure that some of our best players do not abandon ship when we are actively trying to improve the team’s fortunes.

Merson, in particular, believes the Argentine tactician could do with Mount and Kante in his midfield. The duo have endured difficult seasons fraught with injuries but when fit are capable of making a huge difference on the field.

The Arsenal legend believes Chelsea will have a fire sale at Stamford Bridge with several players expected to leave. While he believes such a decision is inevitable, there are some players who hold more value than others.

“Two players who shouldn’t be allowed to leave are Mason Mount and N’Golo Kante. Chelsea face an uphill battle to finish in the top four next season, so they can’t afford to sell Mount to the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United or Liverpool, as they’d be strengthening one of their rivals.”

Kante’s contract is up in the summer and he is no closer to penning a new deal. While his impact on the field cannot be understated, injuries in recent years have seen him become a bit part player. There appears to be some optimism regarding an extension and it remains to be seen if Kante will go through with it.

Mount, arguably could prove to be Chelsea’s biggest departure this summer. At 24, the Englishman has the best years of his career ahead of him and will undoubtedly strengthen a direct rival. The Blues are far from guaranteed to secure a top-four spot next season and cannot do so sans their top players.

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Chelsea already have much ground to cover let alone lose their top players to direct rivals. Whether we get the asking price or not, the Blues are better off holding out for a foreign side to come in and swoop Mount. That is, of course, if we fail to convince him to stay put.