Mason Mount’s future at Stamford Bridge remains far from certain with the player ‘increasingly’ feeling unvalued at Chelsea amid reported interest from Liverpool.
The Merseysiders are understood to be in the market for midfielders ahead of the summer window and will certainly be keen on any opportunity to bolster their homegrown quota in light of potential exits.
“Having been with Chelsea since the Under-9s, Mount has a deep personal connection with many players, the staff and supporters around west London. That is despite a vocal minority of fans targeting him with abuse for a sustained period, regardless of how he plays,” Nizaar Kinsella wrote for the Evening Standard.
“He has always rejected interest from other clubs and, while doing so, even put his hand in his own pocket to help support the club’s academy during the sanctions on Roman Abramovich.
“His loyalty and desire to be a one-club man is being tested to the limit. As he increasingly does not feel valued, other ‘big six’ clubs sense an opportunity. Liverpool lead the way as an alternative destination, but Manchester United and Manchester City cannot be discounted.”
James Milner should be considered one such possible exit given his contract is set to expire at the end of the campaign alongside another homegrown star in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Assuming the worst and that both Nat Phillips and Caoimhin Kelleher look for moves away from L4, we could be without as many as four homegrown players – with a minimum of eight required – ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
Mount, aged 24, in that regard, would look to be a rather interesting option for our recruitment team.
Curtis Jones will, of course, bolster our quota once his status as ‘homegrown’ kicks in next term and it’s possible that the likes of Leighton Clarkson and Sepp van den Berg may be considered as additions to the squad for the same reason.
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