Mauricio Pochettino could find his disappointment regarding a likely summer departure for Mason Mount lessened with Chelsea finding their new boss a dream replacement. The 24-year-old has been loosely discussing new contract terms throughout the 2022/23 season but little to any significant progress has been made which looks set to result in Mount leaving his boyhood club.
With the opening of the summer window fast approaching, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal are all seriously interested in Mount, as football.london understands. Jurgen Klopp's side emerged as early front-runners having done more ground work than any other club, but United are now leading the race for his signature.
Other likely outgoings expected to take place early into the summer trading period include Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Edouard Mendy and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang. In fact, over the course of the upcoming transfer window, the Blues could see as many as 15 players depart the club with Pochettino backed to complete a mass squad overhaul.
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Selling that many players will likely generate significant funds which would result in Pochettino having a healthy transfer budget. Manuel Ugarte of Sporting CP is currently the target Chelsea are putting in the efforts to sign, although the Blues have suffered a setback with Paris Saint-Germain currently offering the 22-year-old a far more lucrative salary.
Ugarte is seen as the top option out of Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Manu Kone to partner Enzo Fernandez with numerous midfield stars expected to depart. Mount and Loftus-Cheek are joined by Mateo Kovacic and N'Golo Kante on that list, with contract extension talks for the latter stalling.
Therefore, bolstering the midfield ranks could be a priority for Pochettino and the Blues may have just found the perfect replacement for Mount. Celta Vigo star Gabri Veiga is attracting very strong interest from a number of top European clubs with Chelsea the latest to join the race, according to AS in Spain.
Arsenal have been keeping tabs on the attacking midfielder for much of 2023, while Manchester United, Manchester City, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are also monitoring his situation. One of those seven clubs looks likely to agree a transfer for Veiga, with his €40million (£34.6m) release clause making a move much easier, and the report also clearly states the 21-year-old will not remain at Celta for the 2023/24 season.
As the only team interested with no European football, Chelsea face an uphill task to try and convince Veiga to sign, but after 35 La Liga appearances where he has scored nine goals and grabbed four assists, he will likely demand first-team assurances which he may not be able to obtain at many of the other clubs.
Chelsea also now look set to face stiff competition from Newcastle specifically, with the Magpies placing themselves in the lead for Veiga after tabling their first bid, according to Marca.
Veiga has thrived in an advanced role this campaign with his versatility allowing him to seamlessly move from his preferred creative role into a deeper position to form a three-man midfield.
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