Chelsea have rejected Manchester United’s third bid for Mason Mount.
The latest proposal was worth £50million plus an additional £5m in add-ons.
A counter-proposal of £58m plus £7m in add-ons has since been made by the Stamford Bridge club as the two sides look to reach an agreement.
Chelsea have offered to meet with United to find an amicable solution.
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There is hope of a swift resolution so Mount does not miss pre-season and the opening games of the new campaign.
The Athletic reported earlier today that United had made an improved bid for the 24-year-old.
Mount has a year left to run on his deal at Stamford Bridge but talks over extending his stay have failed to yield a positive conclusion and Chelsea are keen to comply with the England international’s wishes over a potential exit.
Mount is a product of the Chelsea academy and has made 195 appearances for the club since his first-team debut in 2017, scoring 33 goals.
He spent two seasons out on loan at Vitesse Arnhem and Derby County between 2017 and 2019 before establishing himself as a first-team regular in Frank Lampard’s first spell at Chelsea.
Mount struggled with a pelvic injury towards the back end of the 2022-23 season and missed Chelsea’s final-day draw against Newcastle United.
GO DEEPER
Mason Mount move only makes sense for Manchester United if he's a big enough improvement
Why might he leave Chelsea?
Analysis by Chelsea correspondent Liam Twomey
This is a complicated question. Mount has been significantly underpaid for the best part of three years; he remains one of the lowest-paid members of Chelsea’s first-team squad, earning less than £100,000 per week ($124,000), on the five-year deal he signed at the beginning of the 2019-20 season. He has since played a key role in the Champions League triumph of 2021, established himself as an England regular and been voted Chelsea’s player of the year twice.
Since the takeover, Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have been unable to tie Mount down to a new deal and the constant turbulence of this season will not have helped matters as Mount weighs up his future.
Would he fit in at Man United?
Analysis by Carl Anka
This move has potential, but might not be a seamless adaptation. The most obvious move would be for Mount to replace Christian Eriksen next to Casemiro. Mount could provide the same progressive passing, set-piece delivery and late entries into the box of Eriksen while improving United’s defensive intensity when out of possession.
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There is some method in United’s pursuit of someone seven years younger than the Dane who can provide similar attacking output plus superior defensive resistance. The question is whether being better than Eriksen or United’s other box-to-box midfielders is a good enough benchmark for what United want to achieve in future seasons.
(Photo: Getty Images)