Manchester United agree personal terms with Mason Mount amid Arsenal, Liverpool interest

Manchester United have reportedly reached an agreement on personal terms with Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount ahead of the 2023 summer window.

Even though no fee has yet been agreed for Mount, Chelsea are expected to demand at least £60m for the 24-year-old attacking midfielder, reported The Guardian.

Chelsea had a nightmare season in the 2022-23 campaign, where they finished 12th in the Premier League table. They managed just 44 points from 38 fixtures, 27 points behind a top-four finish. The Blues are looking to part ways with players whose contracts are running out, and the same goes for Mount, who has just a year left on his current deal.

Positive talks with Man Utd

Over the last few months, there has been silence between Chelsea and Mount's camp and the Stamford Bridge side is on the verge of losing one of its prominent academy players as the German midfielder is in talks with other clubs, especially with Manchester United.

Mount, meanwhile, has also received interest from Arsenal and Liverpool FC, but it looks like Manchester United are closing in on sealing the deal for Mount, who made his senior debut during the 2017-18 season during his loan stint with Dutch club Vitesse.

Talks between Manchester United and Mount's representatives, his father Tony and agent Neil Fewings, have progressed in the right direction since last week. It did not hurt that Erik ten Hag and co. thrashed Chelsea 4-1 at Old Trafford in the Premier League, according to The Sun.

Chelsea's new head coach Mauricio Pochettino wants to keep Mount and the Argentine boss could have been an ideal mentor for Mount. But the young midfielder is now determined to leave the club, especially after multiple failed negotiations over a contract extension.

Manchester United head coach Ten Hag, meanwhile, had indicated last year that he would prefer to sign English players but had also admitted that the asking fee of most of their targets was too high.

"I would like to sign English players because I think there is only one criteria and that's quality in combination with the price. It looks like English players are quite expensive. It's a fact you cannot deny. In the end, it's about quality," Ten Hag said in July.

After rising through the youth ranks at Chelsea, Mount finally made his senior debut for the Blues during the 2019-20 season. In his maiden campaign, he ended up playing as many as 53 matches for Chelsea in all competitions. In the subsequent campaign, Mount won the Champions League and then the Club World Cup with Chelsea. He was also a starter in their three successive FA Cup final defeats between 2020 and 2022, as well as their League Cup final defeat to Liverpool on penalties last year.

Despite suffering from injuries across the 2022-23 season, Mount made 35 appearances for Chelsea, scoring three goals and six assists.

Overall, Mount has netted 33 goals and 37 assists in 195 competitive matches for Chelsea.

Meanwhile, Mount is not the only player close to a Stamford Bridge exit this summer. Chelsea are willing to do a full clearout as they are looking to rebuild their squad by offloading players after spending £600m on signings since last summer.

Chelsea to rebuild midfield

Pochettino is keen to restructure the midfield and is interested in Sporting Lisbon's Manuel Ugarte. Chelsea are yet to agree a new deal with N'Golo Kanté, who is out of contract.

The Blues have also given a green signal to Manchester City to begin talks with Mateo Kovacic, who also has only a year left on his current deal with Chelsea. The Croatian midfielder has not been offered an extension and is open to a fresh challenge, with Manchester City a possible destination.

Pep Guardiola is looking to further strengthen his central midfield and Kovacic is one of his top targets ahead of the 2023 summer window. The Premier League champions are expected to lose Ilkay Gundogan on a free transfer, while Kalvin Phillips has struggled as Rodri's deputy since leaving Leeds last summer.