COMMENT: This isn't going to happen, surely? Mason Mount. Chelsea surely aren't going to push an 18-year veteran of the club out the exit door this summer...?
If it does happen. If the board do choose to sell rather than reward. Then Chelsea will be losing much more than a very good - and potentially great - footballer.
A Euros finalist. A Champions League winner. And all achieved on £75,000-a-week. At 24 and with his deal now well inside it's final 18 months, Mount is understandably seeking parity with Chelsea's highest earners.
But the latest is Todd Boehly is seeking something different. A long-term compromise. Just as he has with Mykhaylo Mudryk, Enzo Fernandez and Trevoh Chalobah, the new owner wants Mount to commit to slightly better wages, but over a long-term 7-8 year deal. It's been sold to outsiders as Boehly and co wanting to get wages in check. But for Mount and his support team, the offer smacks of poor squad planning.
With Champions League qualification almost out of reach and Financial Fair Play (FFP) rearing it's head, the mega wages which convinced Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly to make the move are no longer available. The new owners have the money, don't worry about that. But after a market outlay of over £600m, there is no room on the books, in terms of FFP, to pay what Mount is seeking.
At least that's been raised at Mount's end of the negotiating table. But there's also the sense of appreciation, or lack of it, which has the player and his team bewildered.
As we say, on paper, on reputation, Mount deserves at least close to what he's seeking. His value to Chelsea goes well beyond his matchwinning qualities. A model pro. One who has come right through the Cobham system. Going from junior player to England international. On the continent they'd refer to Mount as a 'flag'. A success story. A symbol of everything right about Chelsea.
With the club in so much flux. With the dressing rooms of the senior squad and those beneath them undergoing so much personnel change. A stalwart like Mount, even at his youthful 24 years, is crucial. To set an example. To be there to lean on. To impart the culture and expectations of a Chelsea pro to new teammates - young and old. Mount's presence will be invaluable over the coming 12 months.
At least it should be. Instead Mount appears dispensable. He senses it. He feels it. And the reality is, the board are leaning towards cashing in on him this summer.
Why the disregard? The underappreciation? It's difficult to nail down. There is an argument Mount hasn't helped himself with his form this season. First impressions haven't worked in his favour in terms of his new employers. But Mount is hardly on his own in struggling at Chelsea. Indeed, you'd be hard-pressed to nominate any of Graham Potter's midfield who have performed consistently this season.
This column would argue, in terms of talent and potential, if given a straight choice, you'd always give a place to a homespun academy player over a flash new signing. It's nothing new. It's a rule the majority of managers (if not chairmen) have forever adhered to. The connection to local fans. The lift it gives to the coaching staff. The culture it creates within a club. These are all benefits of seeing an academy graduate successfully make it through to the first team. Essentially this is personified by Mount.
But as we've highlighted in past columns, this is a different Chelsea. This is Todd Boehly's Chelsea. And as former Miami Marlins president David Samson has stated about the LA Dodgers co-owner, Boehly wants to do things his way. He wants to prove he can do it differently - and still succeed.
It's why we've seen this crazy, record spending since he took charge. Nothing in football's past suggests throwing all these new players together, even ignoring the need for team balance, will work. But Boehly wants to prove that it will - and this could lead to Mount eventually being squeezed out.
Spending €100m on Mudryk. Another €38m on Noni Madueke. Bringing in Sterling from Manchester City. Of course, Boehly is going to want to see his business succeeding on the pitch. All attacking midfielders. All players similar to Mount. But with the distinction of being a product of the new owner's handiwork. We even have news this week of the American in Paris for a meeting with Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the PSG president, about Neymar.
Unnecessary? Unneeded? Of course. Particularly when you have a player of Mount's ability available. But that's just it, this Chelsea transfer policy isn't supposed make sense - at least for the football fan.
So, unless a major compromise can be found, it'll happen. Mount will move on. It'll be to another elite club. With an elite manager. At 24 and with his best football ahead of him, Mount will be lost to Chelsea. And with him, 18 years of Blues culture and know-how.
