With Mason Mount still yet to pen an extension at Chelsea, Todd Boehly must allow the next head coach to decide whether he leaves or stays. The 24-year-old midfielder faces an increasingly uncertain future at Stamford Bridge with his contract set to expire at the end of next season.
One of Boehly's priorities after buying the club last year was to tie Mount down to a long-term deal, football.london understands. But, it's said that negotiations have proven difficult thus far with the proposed length of contract and wage packet an issue.
The England international is far from one of the top earners at Cobham despite notching nearly 200 appearances for the club. If an agreement cannot be reached then Mount will be become a free agent in June 2024 and, until then, he'll be available for a cut-price fee.
READ MORE: Chelsea player ratings vs Bournemouth as Benoit Badiashile and Noni Madueke excellent in victory
football.london understands that Liverpool are long-term admirers of the midfielder, while Manchester City and Manchester United are also thought to be monitoring the situation. The saga has dragged out for some time now and, with an ultimatum still yet to be declared, Boehly should leave the decision in the hands of whoever replaces Frank Lampard this summer.
If, say Mauricio Pochettino, does have Mount at the centre of his his plans, then the club must be prepared to swallow their pride meet the Englishman's existing demands. If the next Chelsea boss does not have the midfielder in their plans then simply offload him and accept whatever follows.
The club must not allow Mount's situation to go on for much longer. If he stays then great, if not then simply put the windfall generated from his sale towards a marquee signing of Pochettino's choice – and that could very well be somebody like Harry Kane!
Boehly must be accept that not every decision he makes will be the right one, so instead he should focus on reducing risk. By appointing a new manager before the summer transfer window opens and giving them the final say on Mount's future will allow the club to finally focus on a new chapter.
If, for whatever reason, Frank Lampard is to stay on then it's clear what his decision will be. Speaking on the £53.2million-rated midfielder's future he said: "It will be the opinion of the club and the opinion of Mason, so that’s between them. I think my opinion’s pretty clear, I don’t need to spell it out what I think of Mason as a player, but it’s not my one to get into, that’s between them."
Then, when quizzed on Mount's recent form, Lampard added: "I think form for a young player, people can analyse and question form, but you can very quickly forget the consistency that Mason’s shown in the period since he’d broken through.
"I've been a big part of that, in the beginning and he carried on after I left, for his country as well. Then you forget how young he is because he’s so mature as a player that all his managers have trusted him so much.
"So I think if there was a drop in form, it’s more than understandable and I think every player has it, especially in the developing years. But there’s no doubt Mason is a top-class player and what he brings the team in and out of possession.
"Form will always waver slightly but the top players manager to gain great consistency and he’s been Chelsea Player of the Year in a couple of seasons with a lot of top players around him… People think it’s easy to play with top players around you. It’s not easy and he’s managed to do that."
READ NEXT:
Every word Frank Lampard said on Chelsea win, Madueke, Badiashile, Chilwell, Sterling boos
Chelsea player ratings vs Bournemouth as Benoit Badiashile and Noni Madueke excellent in victory
Bournemouth vs Chelsea highlights: Gallagher, Joao Felix and Benoit Badiashile win it for Blues
Ben Chilwell substituted with suspected hamstring injury during Chelsea vs Bournemouth
Transfer news LIVE: Latest news, views and rumours from Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham
