Chelsea are making plans to tie down Mason Mount and Edouard Mendy to new contracts after securing the future of Reece James on a lucrative, long-term deal.
James last week signed a six-year contract worth £250,000-a-week, and Chelsea’s new owners have made talks with Mount and Mendy one of their next priorities.
Provisional discussions have taken place between co-owner Todd Boehly and Mount, who has two years remaining on his current deal and is in line to become one of the highest earners at the club.
Mount is yet to be presented with a formal offer, but he is happy at Stamford Bridge and there is optimism an agreement will be reached with the England midfielder.
James’s new contract was completed in unusually quick time, following talks over a two-week period, but negotiations over Mount and Mendy are expected to take longer.
Mendy’s case is more complex, and the Senegal goalkeeper has already turned down an initial offer from Chelsea, who kick off their Champions League campaign away at Dinamo Zagreb this evening.
The 30-year-old is said to have been offered inferior terms to back-up Kepa Arrizabalaga, who negotiated his £190,000-a-week contract when he joined for £71million in 2018.
Mendy is currently among the lowest earners at Chelsea, with his current deal running until 2025.
Recent errors against Leeds and West Ham have led to criticism over his recent performances, but manager Thomas Tuchel backed his No1 after Saturday’s 2-1 win over the Hammers at Stamford Bridge.
“I think it’s a very sensitive position in football in general — and it’s not everything that’s just pure quality and only about decision-making,” Tuchel said. “It’s also about the feeling and the feeling that you feel the confidence and sometimes it’s a bit of also having the luck.
“Somebody sent me an interesting quote about Napoleon, who asked his generals if they should not only have the best quality, but he needs also that they are lucky generals.
“So, this is what you need also from leaders and from goalkeepers, and that they have the kind of momentum that if they do a little mistake, it’s not punished. Now, he gets punished a lot for not a lot of what he does wrong, but there are no doubts in my mind.
“The situation is calm. We have two fantastic goalkeepers, two fantastic guys. We are aware of it that [Mendy] is in that kind of situation, but first, we deal inside and then we tell you.”
The futures of Jorginho and N’Golo Kante are also a priority for Chelsea, with both players in the final year of their contracts.
At this stage it is unclear whether either player will sign a new deal and they are able to talk to interested foreign clubs from January.
