Chelsea reject £40m offer for Mason Mount from Manchester United

Chelsea have rejected a £40million offer from Manchester United for Mason Mount.

The Athletic reported in May that Mount, 24, was leaning towards a move to Old Trafford with other clubs chasing his signature aware of his preference.

The England international has a year left to run on his deal at Stamford Bridge but talks over extending his stay have so far failed to yield a positive conclusion.

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Manchester United are expected to return with an improved offer with manager Erik ten Hag a big fan of the player.

Chelsea value Mount far higher and dismissed the approach out of hand.

Incoming Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino wants Mount as part of his squad for next season, but a new long-term deal has yet to materialise since negotiations opened last summer.

Liverpool and Arsenal have also been keen on Mount, while former Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel — now at Bayern Munich — has also been credited with interest.

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 Lampard’s first spell at Chelsea.

He has also made 36 appearances for his country and was a member of Gareth Southgate’s squads at Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup.

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 to Man United - the key questions answered

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.

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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.

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: Craig Mercer/MB Media via Getty Images)