Jurgen Klopp is looking to revamp his engine room this summer as Liverpool are overstocked in the position but lacking regularly fit and available options. The Reds don’t have a central midfielder with 20 Premier League starts this season, so they’re likely to bring in more than one when the transfer window opens.
Liverpool started 37-year-old James Milner in Wednesday’s Champions League defeat to Real Madrid, so it’s little wonder Klopp is ‘prioritising’ this key area of the pitch. And according to The Athletic, Chelsea’s Mason Mount is one player they’ve ‘retained an interest’ in. The 24-year-old is out of contract next year and is yet to sign a new deal, so Chelsea might have to cash in early.
Mount has made 192 appearances in all competitions since rising through the youth ranks to Chelsea’s first-team in 2019, scoring 33 goals with 37 assists. The England international, who scored five goals with five assists from 36 caps, has been a regular for the Blues this season, contributing nine goals from 32 games across the board, but his future is up in the air.
Mount currently earns £75k-per-week at Stamford Bridge and wants in excess of £240k-per-week, but Chelsea aren’t budging. As per Joe Bernstein of Mail Online in February, Mount wants wages in line with his teammates as a long-term first-team player, but he could end up leaving if an agreement can’t be reached.
Chelsea would have to cash in early if Mount won’t sign a new deal, as Todd Boehly has no intention of letting another player of value leaving on a free transfer. The Blues owner was frustrated that Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger left the club at the end of the contract, so Mount won’t be released.
And if he is sold, Liverpool are positioning themselves near the front of the queue. Thiago and Jordan Henderson have started only 14 of the Reds’ 26 league games this season, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has started just four times, Naby Keïta has started only three games, Curtis Jones has started one league outing, and Arthur Melo hasn’t played in the top-flight at all.
Klopp needs reinforcements, but Jacob Steinberg of the Guardian said earlier this month that Liverpool might have to pay £50m for Mount which is steep.
