Mason Mount 'preparing to say goodbye' to Chelsea with Man Utd transfer now most likely

Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount looks destined to leave the club this summer with several top Premier League sides interested in signing the England international.

Mount, 24, is out of contract in 2024 and has rejected the offer of a new long-term deal at Chelsea.

Negotiations are ongoing between all parties over an improved contract, with incoming Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino keen to work with Mount.

However, it looks increasingly likely that the player will leave this summer.

Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal are all interested signing Mount, who has scored 33 goals in 195 games for the Blues since making his first-team debut in 2019, while Bayern Munich are also said to be keeping tabs on his situation at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea could refuse to sell him but risk losing him for free the following season if he does not sign a new contract.

If they do opt to cash in on the midfielder, Chelsea are expected to demand more than £60m for the player.

Mount 'leaning towards' Man Utd

The Athletic claim Mount is leaning towards a move to Manchester United and talks are expected between the two clubs in due course.

The other clubs interested in Mount are said to be 'aware' of his preference to move to Old Trafford.

In the build-up to Chelsea's 4-1 defeat to United on Thursday, Blues caretaker manager Frank Lampard was asked if the Mount situation was beginning to feel like a lost cause for the west London club.

"I don't know," Lampard said. "That's not my answer to make. That's between Mason and the club."

Mount was ruled out of the match at Old Trafford and is struggling to be fit to make the final game of the season against Newcastle on Sunday after surgery on a pubic bone injury.

However, the Evening Standard have confirmed Mount will be at Stamford Bridge for the Newcastle game, when the players will do a traditional end-of-season lap of appreciation after the match.

It is claimed that Mount is preparing to say his goodbyes to Chelsea this weekend, with the midfielder increasingly likely to leave his boyhood club.

What has Mount said?

Mount has kept tight-lipped about his future with negotiations ongoing.

Speaking before the World Cup in Qatar, Mount was asked about the possibility of him leaving Chelsea – the club that has been his home for 18 years.

"I have always been so focused on my football since I was in the academy," Mount told the Evening Standard in November.

"I know now there is a lot more media focus on me, but I do not look too much into that. I block it out."