The contract standoff at Chelsea with their England star, Mason Mount continues with all indications pointing to the exit of the young star from Stamford Bridge in the Summer.
The 24 year old is demanding a contract in the same frame as that recently given to another young star that rose from the academy, Recce James.
James was recently signed to a long term £250,000 per week contract. That development emboldened Mount to demand a similar contract since he has been with the club since age 6, and has shone in recent seasons for the blues. In addition, Mount has won the club’s player of the year for two successive seasons.
Mount’s Worrying Form
However, Mount’s recent form has been less than sterling. Going into contract talks with a poor form is not the best negotiating setup for any player.
Mount has been a loyal and dedicated player to Chelsea. However, critics have mentioned that Mount has been a beneficiary of favoritism from Frank Lampard. During the first tenure of Frank Lampard, Mount featured in almost all the club games.
The problem may not be whether the club want to keep Mason Mount, but rather if they can afford to pay him the reported demand of £250,000 per week.
There are concerns about the blow up of the Chelsea balance sheet after the club spent over £600m on players with abysmal results. Now Financial Fair Play considerations have crept in especially with no Champions League football and revenues coming in for next season.
To be fair, Chelsea under the previous ownership of Roman Abramovich had kick started discussions on a new contract for Mason Mount for £200,000 per week. The talks did not progress until the new owners took over and the dynamics changed.
Mount is currently on £80,000 per week from his old contract.
Chelsea have greatly underperformed this season. The clouds around the club do not support the granting of such a large contract to any player at the moment. There are demands for more prudent utilization of resources.
Todd Boehly, one of the owners of Chelsea, was reported to have addressed the contract issue with the player in April. Boehly assured Mount of his importance to the team and further talks are expected before the new season commences.
However, some of the top clubs in the Premier League has started hovering around Mount with Manchester United reportedly getting ready to make a £59million offer for the player.
Liverpool have also shown interest and will most likely make a similar bid.
Will Chelsea allow the sale of the star player who rose through the academy and shone brightly in the last couple of seasons? Or will Chelsea reach a new contract agreement with the player who has remained adamant about his wage demands and recognition as one of the top performers in the London side?
