Manchester United are confident of securing Mason Mount from Chelsea if they confirm Champions League qualification, which coincidentally could happen against the London side on Thursday night.
The English midfielder is available for transfer since he has not signed a new deal with his contract up next year, and Chelsea needing to drastically trim their squad anyway.
While this is set to be a disappointment to Stamford Bridge supporters who value the club bringing through young players, it is precisely this that has proven attractive to United to go with Mount's abilities.
At £55 million, the 24-year-old is seen as cheap for an English international of his achievement, and is considered an upgrade on what United have in that area. Managers who play a pressing style like Erik ten Hag especially value Mount for his understanding of that approach and his disciplined execution.
It is this that has led to a lot of top Premier League clubs looking at the player, with Liverpool up to now the most interested, and Arsenal surveying the situation. United feel Champions League qualification can drastically improve their argument.
Ahead of the meeting at Old Trafford, United boss Ten Hag rather pointedly noted that spending big sums without having a cohesive plan in place to utilise those signings effectively was a total waste - as Chelsea have found out this season.
“When there is no strategy behind, or (not) the right strategy, money doesn’t work,” he said. “In this moment there is a centralisation of good players, of the best managers, also of the money, it is all here in the UK. And that makes a great competition, but also a tough and a hard competition.
“And you have to do the right things and you can have money but you have to do it and spend it in a smart way and also you need a strategy behind it, because, otherwise, the money doesn’t work.”
