Chelsea reject £40m lowball from Manchester United for Mason Mount — report

It seems inevitable that Mason Mount ends up leaving Chelsea this summer and joining Manchester United — he’s supposedly agreed personal terms some time ago — but before that can happen, the two sides must agree a transfer fee.

And so far, we’re not very close to that happening, especially with United opening their bidding at just £40m — so £10m less than what they were supposedly set to bid before, and half of our asking price. So Chelsea rejected that, as one would expect, according to various reports including from the Telegraph and The Athletic.

The outcome at this point will depend on who blinks first. Will United up their offer? Will they wait us out until the last days, when the “risk” of keeping Mount and (presumably) then losing him for free next summer becomes too great? Will we call their bluff and have them pay over the odds to complete the deal minutes before the deadline? Or will we just agree a decent fee after a few rounds of boring negotiations? It’s all on the table.

What doesn’t seem to be on the table is Mason staying and signing a new contract, so whatever can’t really be bothered. A few million here or there, ain’t got no time for this. Get it done.