Liverpool have suffered a major injury crisis in midfield this campaign and considered Mason Mount among others to potentially fill the void next season, but Fraser Fletcher of Football Insider says the Reds may have suffered a blow in their pursuit of the 24-year-old.
Mount had an uncertain future at Chelsea after talks over a new contract fell through. The England international wanted an improved wage from his existing deal and assurances over his role in the squad. Mount has been a first-team player since 2019 but hasn’t always commanded a starting place in 2022/23.
With Chelsea sitting 12th in the Premier League and Liverpool looking set for a top-five finish, few could blame Mount for thinking the grass is greener elsewhere. His existing contract is up next year and Chelsea wouldn’t want to lose a valuable asset for nothing, so they’d have to cash in this summer too.
Mount could make U-turn on contract decision
Fletcher believes Mount may stay at Chelsea, however, as the Blues are growing confident of agreeing a new deal. Talks have been ongoing for some time without success, but the news that Mauricio Pochettino could take over has many players convinced to stay.
And with Chelsea promising Mount more first-team football and an important role in the squad, Liverpool’s ongoing pursuit may fall on deaf ears. Arsenal and Bayern Munich have also been linked with the 24-year-old, but the Reds have a fervent need to bolster the engine room.
Jurgen Klopp has Fabinho, Stefan Bajcetic, Thiago, Naby Keita, Curtis Jones, Arthur Melo, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner on the books, but only Fabinho and Henderson have 20 or more starts in the Premier League this season.
Liverpool have made signing a midfielder a priority and had Mount on a long list of targets, but the 24-year-old wouldn’t have been cheap with a £70m asking price. Klopp already said Liverpool didn’t have the budget for an expensive marquee signing, and the Reds had to pull out of the race for Jude Bellingham due to his £132m valuation, so Mount might have been too steep for their liking too.
Where they’ll go now remains to be seen, however, as they need value in the transfer market but also quality to improve on the current crop.
