Manchester United hit Mason Mount obstacle as Chelsea name price

United are leading Liverpool and Arsenal in the race for the England international

Miguel Delaney
Chief Football Writer
Friday 26 May 2023 11:50 EDT
Comments
'There's still room for improvement' - Ten Hag on next season hopes

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Chelsea are insistent on receiving at least £55m for Mason Mount this summer, with Manchester United yet to match the club’s valuation for the England international despite leading the race for his signature.

The 24-year-old is willing to go to United amid interest from Liverpool and Arsenal and agreement on a price is now the only obstacle to his move to Old Trafford.

Mount only has a year left on his contract and has refused to sign a new deal amid uncertainty at Chelsea.

The midfielder believes United’s system under Erik ten Hag offers the best fit, with the Dutchman understood to have the clearest idea for him.

United do not want to go as high as £55m because their own summer budget is open to change with the takeover, but it is felt a deal will eventually be done despite the clubs currently being some way off agreement.

United thrashed Chelsea on Thursday night to secure Champions League qualification which drastically improved what they can offer Mount next season.

Ahead of the meeting at Old Trafford, United boss Ten Hag rather pointedly noted that spending big sums without having a cohesive plan in place to utilise those signings effectively was a total waste - as Chelsea have found out this season.

“When there is no strategy behind, or (not) the right strategy, money doesn’t work,” he said. “In this moment there is a centralisation of good players, of the best managers, also of the money, it is all here in the UK. And that makes a great competition, but also a tough and a hard competition.

“And you have to do the right things and you can have money but you have to do it and spend it in a smart way and also you need a strategy behind it, because, otherwise, the money doesn’t work.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in