Danny Murphy has warned Todd Boehly that Chelsea will not be able to demand 'silly money' for Mason Mount in the summer. The 24-year-old midfielder has been heavily linked with an exit from Stamford Bridge having recently entered the final 13 months of his deal.
football.london understands that negotiations with Mount over an extension have proven difficult thus far, with the proposed length of the contract and wage packet proving to be an issue. He's far from one of the top earners in west London despite racking up nearly 200 appearances for the club.
If either side cannot reach an agreement over a new deal then the Cobham graduate will be free to leave the Blues in June 2024. Between now and then, Mount is said to be available for a cut-price fee and some tops clubs are already hoping to strike a bargain.
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football.london understands that Liverpool are long-term admirers of Mount, while Manchester City and Manchester United are thought to be monitoring his situation. Chelsea are also under pressure from Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations after spending over half a billion pounds on player signings alone this season, so they don't appear to have much leverage over the England international's price tag.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Danny Murphy claimed that Mount will be a shrewd acquisition in the summer, steering the midfielder towards Anfield. The former Liverpool ace said: "I think they [Liverpool] need two or three [new midfield players].
"Ox [Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain] will go, [James] Milner will go, [Naby] Keita will go. Mount would be good value because he's got a year left. You're not going to have to pay silly money for him."
Earlier this month, Jurgen Klopp appeared to admit defeat in the race to sign Jude Bellingham with Borussia Dortmund expected to demand a fee in excess of £100million for the teenager. Ahead of Liverpool's clash with Leeds, the German said: "There's nothing to say about it to be honest.
"If we don't speak about players we sign or not, why would we now speak about this kind of speculation and this kind of news? It's really nothing to say about.
"It's not about Jude Bellingham my answer now - why do we constantly talk about things we theoretically can't have? We cannot have six players in the summer for £100m [each], for example, everybody would say that's clear.
"You have to realise what you can do and then work with that. How much money do we have available and then work with that. We are not children.
"Ask a five-year-old what they want for Christmas and they say a Ferrari, you wouldn't say that's a good idea, it's too expensive and you cannot drive it. It's what can you do and then you do it, and work with that.
"It's always how I've worked. Whatever we need and what we want, we try absolutely everything to get it. You have to accept that this or that is not possible for us. We'll step aside and do different stuff."
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