Mason Mount: Manchester United agree deal to sign England midfielder from Chelsea

 

Manchester United have agreed a deal to sign England midfielder Mason Mount from Chelsea on a five-year contract for £55m, plus £5m in add-ons.

Mount, 24, will be Erik ten Hag's first signing of the summer as he looks to strengthen his side following United's qualification for next season's Champions League.

Chelsea spent £600m last season and needed to sell before 30 June to ease Financial Fair Play concerns.

Mount joined Chelsea aged six.

Chelsea had rejected United's first three bids but talks between the two clubs resumed this week to resolve the impasse.

It is understood Chelsea preferred not to lose Mount but were unable to successfully negotiate a new contract with his deal set to expire next year.

Mount, who has scored 33 goals in 195 appearances for Chelsea since making his senior debut in 2019, missed the end of the domestic season with injury as the Blues came 12th - their lowest finish for more than 25 years.

United finished third in the Premier League and while Ten Hag has prioritised a new striker this summer, Mount's ability to operate in advanced positions is understood to have made him an attractive option for the club.

Mount won the Champions League in 2021 with Chelsea and started during the side's 1-0 win over Manchester City in the final.

He also won the Fifa Club World Cup and Uefa Super Cup with the Blues.

He has been capped 36 times by England, scoring five goals, and was part of Gareth Southgate's squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Mount came through Chelsea's academy before joining Vitesse on loan for the 2017-18 season, scoring nine goals in 29 Eredivisie appearances.

The following campaign he was loaned to Derby County, scoring eight goals 35 Championship games under manager Frank Lampard as the Rams suffered a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa in the play-off final.

Upon his return to Chelsea in 2019, Mount made his breakthrough under the newly-appointed Lampard and became a key player at Stamford Bridge.

Last month Chelsea appointed former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager, replacing interim boss Lampard who had taken over following the sacking of Graham Potter.

The Blues are seeking to reduce their squad size and have sold Kai Havertz to Arsenal and Mateo Kovacic to Manchester City this week, while fellow midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek is close to joining AC Milan.

Meanwhile, Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly have moved to Saudi Arabia with Al-Ahli, and N'Golo Kante has agreed a deal with fellow Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad.

Midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko also left Chelsea as a free agent after spending last season on loan at AC Milan.

Deal raises questions for Man Utd midfield

Both clubs view this as a good deal.

Chelsea have secured a guaranteed £55m for a player who had made it perfectly clear they wanted to leave and could have done for nothing in 12 months' time given he had no intention of signing a contract extension.

For their part, United feel they have held a line drawn with what was said to be their "final" offer last week, because the additional £5m payments are only triggered through multiple major trophy triumphs over a number of seasons.

It is understood Ten Hag values Mount's versatility, but views him primarily as an attacking midfielder, which puts him in direct competition with Christian Eriksen.

To many, this will not be viewed as a bad thing as the 31-year-old Dane's influence tended to wane in the second half of matches.

Mount's arrival also raises question marks over the futures of Fred and Scott McTominay.

Fulham is a possible destination for Fred and United are open to offers for the 30-year-old Brazilian.

McTominay's situation is more complex.

United would be happy to keep the Scotland international, 26, who has spent his whole career with them.

However, it is clear McTominay is not viewed as a regular first choice, and it is unlikely the club would stand in his way if an acceptable offer came in that he wanted to take.