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Football London
Football London
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Kieran Horn

Mauricio Pochettino already has Mason Mount replacement at Chelsea amid Arsenal transfer pursuit

The future of Chelsea star Mason Mount continues to remain significantly up for debate with it equally possible the midfielder may end up at four different Premier League clubs. Co-owner Todd Boehly and Mauricio Pochettino, who has agreed a deal to become the next Blues manager, as football.london understands, both want Mount to remain at the club, but a Stamford Bridge stay appears to look less and less likely the closer the summer window gets.

Among the clubs interested in acquiring his services are Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal with Bayern Munich also mentioned as a possible destination. The 24-year-old's contract expires next summer, but there is a willingness on both sides for his future to be resolved in the coming months to avoid a previous Chelsea transfer mistake.

For the situation to be sorted, it means there are only two options for Mount, either he signs an extension or is sold by his boyhood club this summer. As football.london have reported, Liverpool have made Mount their priority signing for the summer to complete a mini-midfield rebuild with Jurgen Klopp's side also in pole position to sign Brighton star Alexis Mac Allister.

READ MORE: Three things Chelsea and Frank Lampard are already doing for Mauricio Pochettino

Interest from the Gunners is relatively fresh but also does not come as a shock with the Athletic reporting that Mikel Arteta wants to add creativity in a more advanced midfield position which has fuelled the pursuit of Mount, after news of Granit Xhaka's expected departure.

Mount has struggled for consistency this season, but given the rather testing circumstances Chelsea find themselves in as a club, the same could also be said for several other players. Injuries at key times have also not helped the England international as he has only been able to play 43 minutes across eight games under interim manager Frank Lampard who first brought him into the senior squad in 2019.

Losing Mount this summer, especially to a rival club, could prove to be detrimental, however if he is ultimately sold there is some reprieve for Chelsea and Pochettino in the form of a forgotten a £16.8million transfer decision that was made last summer.

With significant recruitment completed ahead of the 2022/23 season and significant fanfare surrounding the arrivals of numerous wonderkids, many have forgotten that the Blues also signed Cesare Casadei from Inter Milan.

The 20-year-old joined Championship side Reading on loan in the January transfer window, making 15 league appearances. The Royals ended the season in a relegation place with Casadei now set to return to Chelsea, but he will face one task first.

The U20 World Cup in Argentina kicked off this past week with Casadei joined by Andrey Santos as Chelsea stars set for prominent roles in the tournament for their respective countries. In fact, the duo were on opposite sides of the pitch on Sunday evening as Italy took on Brazil.

While much of the focus was on Santos, Casadei stole the show by grabbing a brace and an assist to help Italy storm into a 3-0 first-half lead. Brazil attempted to make a comeback, led by captain Santos, in the second period but Italy held out to win the match 3-2.

Casadei was deployed in an advanced midfield role, the position where Mount has looked his best, which could make the Italian international the perfect Mount replacement for Pochettino.

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