Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on the impasse in discussions over Mason Mount’s contract extension at Chelsea, amid reported interest from Newcastle.
Mount has been the standout forward for Chelsea in recent seasons and has become a key player for England as well as his club.
The midfielder’s contract is up at the end of next season and having secured the future of fellow academy graduate Reece James, Todd Boehly and the rest of the Blues bosses are desperate to tie Mount down to a new deal as soon as possible.
And after The Telegraph revealed on Sunday that contract talks had reached a stalemate, Romano has provided an update on the situation, with the club making Mount’s new deal a “priority”.
Romano told CaughtOffside: “[There is] some speculation doing the rounds. I’m told there have been talks ongoing for a long time between Mason Mount and Chelsea.
“It’s still not done but it’s under discussion. And for Chelsea it’s seen as an important priority to extend Mount’s deal.
“[There is] some speculation doing the rounds. I’m told there have been talks ongoing for a long time between Mason Mount and Chelsea.
“It’s still not done but it’s under discussion. And for Chelsea it’s seen as an important priority to extend Mount’s deal.
The ‘speculation’ Romano is referring to comes from TEAMtalk, who claim Newcastle would be ‘serious players in the race to sign Mount’ if he became available.
The report states that ‘Eddie Howe is a known admirer of the talented forward’ having been keen on securing a loan deal for the Blues academy graduate while in charge of Bournemouth.
Chelsea apparently have a ‘contingency’ plan should they fail to tie Mount down to a new deal.
Their back-up plan could be AS Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini or Villarreal’s Yeremy Pino.
Potter is expected to be backed in the January transfer window after Tuchel was given a £250million budget in the summer.
Mount is ‘seen as part of the future’, meaning Chelsea would much rather he penned a new deal than lose him and sign Pino or Pellegrini, although the funds are there to be spent.
READ MORE: Tailoring aside, Mason Mount deserves to be treasured, not taken for granted
