Erik ten Hag wants to sign Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount but Man Utd will need to strike a competitive deal for the 24-year-old.
This is the time to be a midfielder. The early knockings of a Premier League transfer window that has started with a bang is being dominated by players in the centre of the pitch and Manchester United are keen to get involved.
A striker might be top of Erik ten Hag’s summer wishlist, with a goalkeeper also a priority, but United were short in midfield last season and as the campaign progressed it felt like they needed some younger legs in amongst the experience of Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes.
United are keen to sign Mason Mount from Chelsea (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images.)
The Premier League’s elite might have been unable to tempt Jude Bellingham back to these shores, but the market for other midfielders is alive and kicking and United head the queue for Mason Mount, who appears certain to leave Chelsea this summer.
Liverpool have already signed Alexis Mac Allister, having initially been interested in Mount, and Arsenal might have competition from Manchester City for Declan Rice, a player United might have wanted had money been less of an issue than it is.
Instead, Ten Hag has eyes for Mount and at the moment United have a clear run at the 24-year-old, who is out of contract next summer and looks unlikely to sign an extension. There is always the danger of that changing, especially with Mauricio Pochettino taking over at Stamford Bridge, but Chelsea have to cash in on academy graduates and Mount looks ready for a move.
He is also intent on joining United at the moment, with personal terms no issue ahead of a potential move to Old Trafford. That just leaves a transfer fee to be agreed upon, and that is when things become more difficult.
United are understandably reluctant to overpay for a player who could move for free in 12 months’ time. An initial bid has exposed the gap between the two sides at the moment, although that is not unusual.
A deal won’t be happening in the kind of £70million to £80m price bracket that Chelsea look to be pushing for, but finding some middle ground and doing so in a relatively timely fashion is essential.
United will be desperate to avoid looking like they’ve been forced to pay too much to land one of Ten Hag’s key targets. They are gradually shedding the image of being a soft touch in the transfer market, although the £85m fee that they paid Ajax for Antony last year hasn’t helped in that regard.
That was the final outlay of a record-breaking summer, but that means a degree of belt-tightening a year later however the interminable takeover saga develops. United are bound by financial fair play rules both at home and abroad and that is why they could only look at loan deals in January.
There is money to spend now, but not a limitless supply of the stuff and it’s very unlikely the total spend will reach the £225m of last summer. Departures are going to be key to boosting the budget available to Ten Hag and John Murtough.
Any deal for Mount will inevitably have a knock-on effect for the rest of the window and a striker has to be the top priority. Landing Harry Kane from Tottenham is beginning to look impossible, but funds will still be required to bring another forward in.
There is also the possibility that a new No. 1 will be required. There is a desire to bring someone in to challenge David de Gea, but if he leaves for free at the end of this month then an upgrade on those ambitions will be required. If Mount is the first signing of the summer then the price paid will have an influence on who else can be pursued.
But it could also free up the possibility of sales. If Mount signs then it could allow United to listen to offers for Scott McTominay, for example, although he is a different profile of players to the England international.
There is work to do yet for United to sign Mount, however, and it could yet have implications for the rest of the window.
Source: manchestereveningnews
