Glen Johnson has told Chelsea that they ‘can’t risk’ losing Mason Mount for free next year and believes the England international is worth £100m with Liverpool reportedly interested in bringing the 24-year-old to Anfield.
The Blues Academy graduate is out of contract at the end of next season and there is yet to be an agreement reached for a new deal between both the club and the player.
Jurgen Klopp is looking to strengthen his options in midfield come the summer and a move for the Chelsea No. 19 is therefore one that could make sense and a deal that the Merseysiders are ‘confident’ they can strike.
Johnson told Betfred (via Express): “The clock is ticking and Chelsea need to be bold regarding the business side of it. This whole situation regarding Mason being linked with a couple of Premier League clubs seems like a bit of a bluff tactic to me.
“The longer it goes without Mason signing a new deal, then Mason’s position will continue to get stronger and the club knows that, so I think Chelsea wouldn’t want to sell him to a Premier League side. But if it gets to the end of the summer transfer window and he’s still not signed a new deal, then they will have to sell him to a rival Premier League club because they can’t risk the prospect of letting him go on a free.
“In 2024, if Mason’s contract does expire, then he’d probably go to a rival Premier League club on a free anyway. If he doesn’t sign a new deal, then Chelsea may as well bite the bullet and take the money for him because you’d rather sell him for £100m, than see him leave for free.
“The club will probably try and do the best deal they can this summer, in terms of selling him for good money or getting him to re-sign. They can’t risk letting him leave for free.”
With Chelsea splashing more than £600m already on strengthening their squad this season Mount is no longer a guaranteed starter at Stamford Bridge and as time ticks on it’s unlikely that he’ll remain at the club.
We understand that it could take a sizeable offer in order to tempt Graham Potter’s side to sell to a huge rival like ourselves but with them facing the prospect of losing the Englishman for free next summer then they may be willing to take whatever they can get.
With Klopp reportedly making Jude Bellingham his main transfer target for the end of the season and any deal for the Borussia Dortmund star expected to surpass the £100m mark, it’s therefore highly unlikely that we’ll splash a similar amount of money on a second player in the same window.
There are cheaper options elsewhere for us to pursue and setting that price tag on Mount would force most clubs to focus their attention on other targets.
You may suggest that is exactly what Chelsea’s intention is but they would be shooting themselves in the foot by then seeing him leave for free the following year.