Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount is attracting transfer interest from FC Barcelona, according to reports in Europe.
Mount is a graduate of the Chelsea academy system who has become a key player at senior level. To date, he has amassed exactly 150 appearances for the club. Within those, he has provided 25 goals and 27 assists – including that for the winner in the 2021 Champions League final.
Also an established England international, Mount has accomplished a lot for a 23-year-old. He has already been tipped to become Chelsea captain one day by a previous holder of that role, John Terry.
However, those plans could be disrupted if Barcelona get their way. According to Foot Mercato, Mount is one of the players being considered by the La Liga giants.
Barcelona want to invest in their squad in the summer, even if they won’t be able to spend heavily. One area that head coach Xavi could want to reinforce is where he used to play himself, midfield.
In that regard, Mount is said to be one of the players on his radar. The only others mentioned are Wolves’ Ruben Neves, and RB Leipzig attacking midfielder Christopher Nkunku, who is also of interest to Paris Saint-Germain.
The path to Mount may be clearer – as long as, of course, Chelsea are cleared to do transfer business in the summer if a takeover goes through in time.
But even if they are able to, it remains to be seen if Chelsea would be willing to let Mount go. He is under contract with them until 2024.
At any other time, this may be when they would start thinking about extending his deal. Under current restrictions, they cannot negotiate, so could be left in a vulnerable position by the time that changes.
Mason Mount transfer to continue trend?
Barcelona have been opportunistic in recent transfer windows. For example, they have signed the likes of Memphis Depay, Eric Garcia and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on free transfers over the past few months.
Signing Mount would come with a cost (unless the ownership saga rumbles on longer than expected). But he could still be an interesting acquisition for them to make.
Mount will have seen his fellow academy graduates Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori move abroad to further their careers. They are thriving in Serie A for Roma and Milan respectively.
The route to La Liga would be a different one for Mount to tread. It is one that his current clubmate Andreas Christensen is likely to go down as a free agent in the summer; captain Cesar Azpilicueta could do the same.
It would be a waiting game to see if Mount is able – or even willing – to make the move as well.
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The post Barcelona expand Chelsea transfer plans, as popular midfielder becomes latest subject of interest appeared first on TEAMtalk.
source https://www.teamtalk.com/chelsea/barcelona-interested-mason-mount-transfer
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