Contact made already: Arsenal and Edu make move to sign “mad” £70m player for Mikel Arteta in the summer
Arsenal have made contact to enquire about a summer deal to sign Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount, according to reports.
Is Mason Mount leaving Chelsea?
The Stamford Bridge academy graduate has made 20 Premier League starts this season but has missed the last six top-flight outings with a pelvis injury, and during his spell on the sidelines, his future off the field has become extremely uncertain over the past couple of weeks.
The England international’s contract is set to expire at the end of next season, meaning that the upcoming window is likely to be the Blues’ final big opportunity to cash in, should he not want to extend his stay further, a scenario which is likely considering that he’s already rejected multiple new offers to commit to his future in SW6.
Sky Sports have reported that Manchester United are the current frontrunners to land the 24-year-old should he leave despite a long-term interest from Liverpool, and it’s claimed that Todd Boehly has placed a £70m price tag on his star’s head, with that being the minimum fee needed to part ways ahead of the 2023/24 term.
Are Arsenal signing Mount?
According to 90min, Arsenal have also “registered their interest” in Mount by approaching his representatives to make them aware of their admiration for him. Chelsea’s anticipated new manager Mauricio Pochettino is said to be a “huge fan” of the midfielder and “wants him to be a part” of his long-term project which has created a “confidence” that he will turn down outside interest to put pen to paper on fresh terms.
The Blues are therefore “set for a meeting” with the Portsmouth-born talent “next week” to try and convince him to remain in the capital beyond the summer.
Chelsea will know that it’ll be hard to turn down a sizable bid for Mount given the financial crisis that they are in, so Arsenal should definitely capitalise on this by testing the waters to see if an agreement could be reached for him to move to the Emirates Stadium.
The Blues attacking midfielder, who’s sponsored by Nike, has clocked up 70 goal contributions (37 assists and 33 goals) in 195 senior appearances and has even been lauded a “leader” in the centre by talent scout Jacek Kulig having previously captained his side, whereas Rio Ferdinand also labelled Mount a “mad player”.
The Champions League participant is also a versatile operator having played in an outstanding seven different positions since first bursting onto the scene, including four in the midfield, out wide on both flanks and even at centre-forward, so this could be an attractive attribute to Mikel Arteta and yet another reason why he would make for a fantastic signing during the upcoming window.
