Chelsea reject third Manchester United bid for Mason Mount, propose counter offer — reports

Manchester United’s third bid for Mason Mount, reportedly £50m with a further £5m in potential add-ons, was a bit more than their second, but still not nearly enough to meet our £60+5m asking price.

United were adamant this was their final offer, but we’re about to test that resolve by inviting them to hand-to-hand combat face-to-face crunch talks and countering with a £58+7m proposal, as per various reports on this fine Friday evening. The counter suggests some intention on our part to get this deal done as well.

You might notice that 60+5 and 58+7 add up to the same final price (HIGH LEVEL MATHS!), so we’re only lowering the up-front guaranteed fee slightly. That might offer a hint as to how a compromise might be reached, with an initial fee somewhere in the fifties, and then variable bonuses bringing that up to our full asking price. After all, Mount’s going to help United to all sorts of titles and trophies, right?