Young English players running down their contracts and making clubs sweat. There's a precedent for that.
Chelsea have fallen foul to it previously and they've also been willing to allow academy graduates to leave for a multitude of reasons. Be it for raising money, lack of first team opportunties or with preference being given to big money signings instead, swathes of talented players have departed Stamford Bridge in the past.
The Blues haven't truly been forced into many sales over the years recently either. Eden Hazard is the biggest one but there were seven years of high quality service for him and a massive transfer fee. His contract was coming to its end and Real Madrid offered a hefty sum.
READ MORE: Mykhailo Mudryk plays new Chelsea role with ease as Christian Pulisic left with cause for concern
The club weren't pushed into a corner regarding Tammy Abraham, he was out of the team for six months before being sold to Roma. Most of the rest never got their chance before leaving. This current crop are different though. Reece James is possibly the club's most valuable asset but he is signed onto a long-term deal.
Armando Broja, Trevoh Chalobah and Conor Gallagher would all have made upwards of £30m per head each over the summer had Chelsea cashed in. Instead they are the bedrock of an academy-led foundation to the current squad. When an exodus of underperforming stars are shown their way toward the exit doors over the summer that trio will be just as important as ever.
What is also worth noting here is the way that academy players go down on the books. They have no ammortized value and as such, when sold their transfer fee goes down as pure profit. It's what makes the departure of at least one Cobham graduate likely at the end of the season.
Such is the level of spending, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital may well need the lump sum of a youth product on the books to help balance the spreadsheets. The one that is getting the most attention here is Mason Mount. With his contract entering the last 18 months he is at serious risk of leaving the club he joined over 15 years ago.
18 months back in time and it would have been impossible to see such a scenario. He has been one of the club's top performers since his debut in 2019 but there is a current contract stand-off. Mount wants to be paid alongside the best at the club, an issue with his currently career-worst form, but also doesn't wish to be tied down on a baseball-style contract like the new January recruits either.
It's created an ultimatum for player and club heading into the summer whereby he either signs or goes. Chelsea will not tread the line and take a risk in the last 12 months of his contract, that only opens them up to losing him for free in the summer of 2024. Instead, they are prepared to let a two-time player of the year aged 24 leave in just over three months instead.
It's a brutal situation. It's not the first time that one of England's stars have gotten themselves into this position though. Bukayo Saka has made Arsenal sweat over his deal with interest in the 21-year-old coming from across the word's biggest and best clubs. Phil Foden took longer to commit himself to Manchester City too. The best case is Marcus Rashford, though.
Whereas Saka has been performing as one of the best forwards in the league for over a season, Rashford struggled through last term registering his lowest output, even lower than his debut half-a-season as a teenager. The 25-year-old was doubted last season at Old Trafford, moved around, shunted in and out and struggling with injuries and burnout.
Such was his talent there was still interest in him as the forward approached a contract conundrum of his own, the same can be said currently Mount. This season the trust in the Mancunian has paid off. He has been on red hot form throughout and earnt himself a bumper new deal. Mount's situation is comparable.
Mount and Rashford are two players at 24 that have been to such high levels and also relied upon by their clubs, suffering a run of bad form and failing to come to an immediate agreement over what came next. Rashford was written off. When this happens it can be hard to see what the benefit of staiyng in that sort of environment can be. Things worked out well in the end.
Although United were willing to enter the final 24 months of Rashford's deal, Chelsea aren't wanting to go much further here and that's a risk that was taken at Old Trafford that has now well and truly proved to be the right call. The same cannot yet be said for Mount.
Given the quality he has shown for the club across three and a half seasons it would be a remarkable shock and shame for Chelsea to lose him, even for what would be a hefty sum. Mount embodies the identity of Chelsea as an institution, has worn the captain's armband, won the Champions League and come through all levels of the academy before taking the loan route of progression.
To lose that sense of the club at a time where an unprecedented level of change has already happen would be a big blow. Boehly/Clearlake might be business people but they are also smart enough to see the value in keeping academy players, that much has been proven.
Although it might take flexibility, and give from both sides with Mount, Rashford's work at United has already proven that there is a better answer than to sell on the table.
READ NEXT:
What Graham Potter did to silence doubters as Chelsea boss makes brutal call on January transfer
New images emerge of bizarre Kai Havertz Chelsea injury after horror Daniel Amartey tackle
Who is Dujuan Richards? Chelsea seal 'pre-contract' transfer for Jamaican goal machine
Chelsea player makes exciting Christian Pulisic comment after Leicester City win
Why Christian Pulisic didn't play for Chelsea vs Leicester City as Graham Potter keeps promise
