Mason Mount is on his way out of Chelsea. The 24-year-old has been at Chelsea since the age of six and his exit will be tough to take for the player himself and the supporters at Stamford Bridge.
Mount really is one of their own, but the Blues have reached a £60million transfer agreeement with Manchester United that will take the 24-year-old to Old Trafford this summer.
There has been plenty of talk around his contract situation in west London, with an offer originally on the table to extend, only to be changed before he could sign it. No agreement came and no talks have ensued, with all talk so far this summer of a move away from the Bridge.
And now it looks like that move is going to come to fruition before he could even get to work with new head coach Mauricio Pochettino, who starts work on Saturday.
Chelsea have invested heavily in their squad for the future of late. Their change of tack in transfer strategy from the summer to January demonstrated a significant move away from readymade first team stars to prodigies and talents for upcoming seasons and Pochettino is the man now tasked with getting the best out of the group.
After what were meant to be Premier League ready, fit and fully packaged deals for Marc Cucurella, Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the shift towards younger players quickly followed. Wesley Fofana for £70million was the start and then more than £300million of further additions all aged 23 or younger over the winter followed.
Enzo Fernandez, 22, broke the league transfer record record at over £106million and Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke, 22 and 21 respectively, cost an extra £97million in immediate cost with the potential for that to rise. There were other deals that have since slipped under the radar that were also sizeable for the age of the player in question.
READ MORE: Inside Mason Mount contract negotiations with Chelsea as Manchester United deal struck
Todd Boehly's mass youth recruitment drive involved deals to bring in some of the best young talent from across the world in order to strengthen and plan for the years ahead as part of the ongoing journey towards Vision 2030. Carney Chukwuemeka, £20million, Gabriel Slonina, £12million, Andrey Santos, £12million, and Cesare Casadei, £15million, all commanded big money deals despite all being teenagers.
Chelsea's concentrated approach was what attracted the scepticism, with stockpiling players and not providing adequate pathways just two barriers to success for previous starlets.
Now more than ever they might be set to come off quicker than before. Mount will become the sixth player to leave Stamford Bridge, with Kai Havertz, N'Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mateo Kovacic and Edouard Mendy all having already left the club. More stars are set to follow in a mass exodus this summer, meaning there is more chance to impress Pochettino and also gaps in the squad to take advantage of. The club only have three main areas to look at heading into the summer window; the rest of the work is largely done.
Returning loanees, of which Santos and Casadei already are, as well as Levi Colwill, will form a baby-faced foundation of the squad seeking to develop in men's football at the highest level. With Kovacic and Mount gone and Ruben Loftus-Cheek also set to be on the way out, there are spots open in the middle of the park.
Mount, in particular, will be hard to replace. In the 2021/22 season he finished as the club's top-scorer in the league and last term, even in his least productive season since making his senior debut, still had more assists than his teammates despite playing once since April and a single full 90 minutes since February.
His energy, output and tactical flexibility will all be missed if he is to make the move to Manchester United this summer as expected, but Chelsea will not need to rush out into the market to find a replacement. In Chukwuemeka, Casadei and Santos they have three of the most highly-rated young midfielders in the world.
Each of them have valuable assets to assist Pochettino next season. Casadei's aerial threat is nearly unrivalled at youth level and has been shown for the club's academy side before a quietly impressive loan spell with Reading.
As a midfield No.8 and attacking player, Casadei's physicality make him suited to a step up next year be it for Chelsea in the place of Mount or on another temporary move. He has been one of the standout players in Argentina with six goals and one assist, including the strike to knock out England and Chukwuemeka.
He is the only one of the three to have any senior experience at Chelsea, remaining a part of the squad for Thomas Tuchel, Frank Lampard and Graham Potter but on the outside for all three. He was largely ignored between February and May but demonstrated his tenacity and driving ability on the ball.
Although football.london understands the club are open to a loan for the former Aston Villa academy star, his qualities may well interest Pochettino in pre-season. He is perhaps the closest in play-style to Mount out of the three.
As for Santos, he is waiting for progress to be made on a work permit. Should that be granted this summer then he is another that is expected to be given a serious run at cementing a first team spot. As a box-to-box player that can play deeper and also offer a box presence, he is one that can perhaps be considered the biggest coup of the trio.
After being chased by Barcelona, Santos is another whose rare mixture of technical brilliance, leadership and physicality all blend together for a mature head in the younger age groups. Between them they not only have the chance to make up for the loss of Mount but also offer more heading forward.
