The international break is almost over and focus can once again return to domestic football. Chelsea are set to take on Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge as they look to maintain the unbeaten record they earned in March.
The final stretch of the season is about to arrive and the run to the summer transfer window is well underway. Marcus Bettinelli has extended his contract, while there has yet to be an announcement on N'Golo Kante who has been in Chelsea training for the duration of the break. The situation regarding Mason Mount has perhaps came to the fore the most over the last two weeks however.
The Chelsea star's contract is set to run until 2024 as things stand and the parties have not managed to come to an agreement, with Liverpool lurking. Mateo Kovacic finds himself in a similar situation, albeit with Manchester City said to be the interested party, but no negotiations have taken place over his future.
READ MORE: How Thomas Tuchel can help Chelsea complete summer transfer plan to shape Graham Potter's squad
football.london Chelsea reporters Scott Trotter and Bobby Vincent discussed as much on the latest episode of View from the Bridge. The Blues are left with few good options should Mount depart.
Scott said: "Obviously Mount has become a divisive figure, particularly in Chelsea Twitter circles, but what is particularly scary about this situation coming forward is that for the teams that can afford what Chelsea and Mount would want are Premier League teams. Seeing one of your top, top players go to a Premier League rival is a scary thought if you're in charge of Chelsea. Secondly, the scary thought would be if Mount wants to ensure he does get this great contract, what happens if he decides to run his contract down like Rudiger and Christensen inevitably did and that's scary because you're not getting a fee for a world class player."
Bobby: "It's a good point, it's why Chelsea are going to have to do something this summer if the contract situation is still the same. Like you said, they could probably still get £50-£60million this summer. They might value him higher but the reality of the market is Liverpool or any other club could wait another 12 months and get him for nothing. Chelsea will have to do something this summer if he hasn't signed and I think Todd Boehly will. We've not seen it as of yet with player sales but he's going to want to be more decisive than Roman Abramovich and the former board were."
The duo also discussed the successes of Chelsea's international break, Aston Villa, N'Golo Kante and the future of Mateo Kovacic. You can find the podcast and the latest episode on most platforms by heading right here.
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