Chelsea's two-time player of the year is one of many who has been singled out for plenty of criticism with the team's poor form. With just two wins in 13 games, there are questions and fingers being pointed pretty much everywhere.
In the wake of the 1-1 draw with West Ham, it was Marc Cucurella who was booed off the pitch by a section of supporters when substituted in the second half. His lack of confidence has come with no respite from those who travel the country to watch him play.
Cucurella's lack of forward passing has been pointed out for stale performances whilst Graham Potter went one step further to remove Conor Gallagher and Mason Mount from the side. The two English midfielders were both dropped to the bench having started alongside Enzo Fernandez against Fulham last week.
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Mount in particular is an increasingly divisive figure. His decision to embrace and share a word and joke with West Ham defender Thilo Kehrer gained traction and has since been heavily lambasted on social media. The 24-year-old is going through his worst patch of form since making his debut three seasons ago.
Since 2019 Mount has stood up when few Chelsea players have and he has produced goalscoring numbers that highly-paid and expensively assembled attacking units haven't. It is with this in mind that he enters the final 18 months of his contract.
With his position in the team as uncertain as it has ever been and the growing anger at his performances festering, it is an unpleasant atmosphere that seems to follow him. This is unsurprisingly unlikely to help make any negotiations smooth. Whereas Armando Broja and Reece James both committed themselves to long-term deals under the Boehly/Clearlake ownership Mount has so far resisted.
It has coincided with his form declining and, whereby James has gone on to hit some of his highest levels yet this season, Mount has dropped. It makes any type of demand tough to justify. Mount's own position is a strong one. As a Champions League-winning regular first team player that passed double figures in goals and assists last season - during a time in which only two players got more goals and nobody bagged more assists - he is rightly due a pay rise.
Such is the new wage structure being implemented, Mount's achievements may not be immediately recognised. £62m signing Mykhailo Mudryy is earning less than £100,000 per week whilst Enzo Fernandez is believed to be in the same camp despite being the club record transfer.
The idea is for players to earn a lower base amount than perhaps their ability would command but to have incentivised deals based on Champions League qualifications. Breaking this for Mount may not bode well. The issue is that now the longer it goes on the tougher it gets.
Mount is a target for Liverpool and Chelsea's position only weakens from this moment on. In one year he can negotiate a free move away. Valued at more than £65m by Transfermarkt, Chelsea won't want to lose out on that sort of asset but neither will they want to sell an academy player that has been playing at a high level until recently.
Having hit a stalemate in November before the World Cup the Telegraph now write that some at the club are starting to resign themselves to losing him. Be that in the summer or in 2024 when his contract ends, the pressure on both ends to find an agreement is well and truly ramping up.
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