Although Mason Mount’s fall from grace at Chelsea happened fairly quickly, this summer, a number of elite teams are still vying for his services.
The England midfielder has lost favor at Chelsea, and it doesn’t seem like his former mentor Frank Lampard’s appointment as interim manager has changed anything.
Despite recent reports in the UK indicating that Mount, 24, prefers a transfer to Manchester United, there have been suggestions that Liverpool is leading the race to sign him.
Although Mauricio Pochettino, the incoming Chelsea manager, is rumored to be a fan of Mount, interim Blues manager Lampard acknowledges the player may decide to leave this summer.
Before his team’s Thursday night trip to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United, Lampard said, “It’s a hard one for me to comment on because I’m not inside Mason’s head and from the club’s point of view my role is clearly what it is.”.
“On that front, it’s entirely between both sides in the practical sense. Considering that this is football, I’m not surprised. Do they all know that I genuinely adore Mason Mount as a young man and as a football player? Of course they do.
Liverpool mistakenly acquired Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita when they believed they had purchased the future.
“I wish him the best personally, and sitting here with my Chelsea shirt on right now, I’ve seen what Mason has produced at this club, but we’ll see.
To be fair to this club, I believe that over the past few years in particular, we have witnessed the academy’s tireless efforts, led by individuals like (academy head) Neil Bath and (head of youth development) Jim Fraser.
“(Players) have performed admirably, and now it is time to deliver the goods in the form of individuals who are affecting the team or who have been sold for a significant profit.
“That’s been a real positive, so I think it’s important we try and keep that feeling that younger players can see a pathway to get into the Chelsea team and play for the team they will grow to love, which is Mason, which is Reece James, etc.
“In a perfect world, those players would stay with the team, but again, in contemporary football, it’s not always that clear. ”.
With the possibility of a bidding war between United and Liverpool, Mount has yet to publicly comment on his future plans.
