Chelsea start contract talks with Mason Mount as well — report

According to Simon Johnson in the Evening Standard, Chelsea have opened talks with midfielder Mason Mount to arrange a new contract for him at the club. Mount is halfway through a four-year contract he signed in 2017, so the timing would be ideal.

After securing Mateo Kovacic’s permanent transfer from Real Madrid, Chelsea should also be wrapping up the signature of new head coach Frank Lampard soon. Lampard was Mount’s head coach last season already at Derby County, where the 20-year-old loanee was instrumental in their nearly successful promotion bid.

While Mount already wanted to stay at Chelsea beyond his current contract, but now that Lampard is set to join him at Cobham, he’s apparently even more convinced that the best next step in his career is to stay at Stamford Bridge — if true, we should be able to sort out a new contract without much delay.

Mount is the third Academy product to be in line for a new contract. Ruben Loftus-Cheek is reportedly close to a fie-year deal, while Chelsea remain optimistic on Callum Hudson-Odoi as well. Reece James is said to soon follow, too.

Optimism regarding youth at Chelsea seems to be growing with Lampard set to (re)integrating certain activities between the youth and senior teams at Cobham, while also intending to pay more attention to the youth teams who have produced excellent results on and off the pitch.

Whether this is a definitive paradigm shift, or just something temporary, only time can answer. At least on paper, there is plenty to be excited about Chelsea going forward. But first, we need to stick to a long-term plan and not falter as we did in many times before.