Manchester United have been warned that it will be a grave mistake to sign Mason Mount this summer. The 24-year-old midfielder faces an increasingly uncertain future at Chelsea, with his contract expiring in 12-months.
football.london understands that the Blues were once close to reaching an agreement with Mount over a new deal but, upon his return from the World Cup in December, an offer was no longer on the table. Then, shortly into the new year, the west Londoners reopened talks with the England international, though he didn't want to sign a one-year extension.
It's understood that Mount has not yet received another proposal since, meaning that he'll become a free agent at the end of next season. football.london understands that United, Liverpool and Arsenal are all seriously interested in signing the Cobham graduate, who reportedly has an eye-watering £70million price tag.
The Red Devils are said to be leading the race for Mount's signature, but there's disparity in valuations. Despite this, United remain confident of wrapping up a deal for the Englishman, according to The Telegraph.
While Erik ten Hag is said to be keen to get his man, Andy Cole has insisted that Mount is not good enough to grace Old Trafford. In an interview with Punters.Pub, the former United striker said: "Would Manchester City look to bring in a player like Mason Mount to make them better?
"You've got to look at players and say, right: would Man City try and buy this player? Because if you're going to close the gap, you can't be buying players that are not going to improve you.
"That's the way I look at things. For Mount not to be getting in the Chelsea team, you have to think why that is. Because it's not as if Chelsea are pulling up any trees to keep hold of him."
READ MORE: Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: 'Done deal', Mount exit 'agreed', Onana swap deal, Vlahovic bid
Despite Cole's claims, Gary Neville believes that Mount can finally glue the United midfield together. Speaking about the Chelsea ace on Sky Sports, the former Red Devils defender said: "Mason Mount is a coach's player, I think that is the best way to describe him and there have been many I have seen in my lifetime in football where they get more respect from the coaching staff for what they do than they do from the fans that are watching them.
"[Maybe that's] because their outputs in goals or assists or tackles, or other things that are really noticeable aren't as much as people would like. What they do is glue teams together, they know when to fill in gaps and trigger presses, win the ball back and counter-attack.
"I'm not surprised Mount is a target for Manchester United. You think about Dutch coaches, they want to dominate possession, he [Ten Hag] wanted that from [Frenkie] de Jong, he wants players who can handle the ball."
READ NEXT:
Chelsea have already signed dream Moises Caicedo partner and it's not Enzo Fernandez
Rafael Leao hints at Chelsea transfer regret after agreeing major AC Milan deal
