Man Utd may have to pay £122m to land priority Erik ten Hag signing Mason Mount

Manchester United may be forced to fork out around £122million to bring Mason Mount to Old Trafford this summer, with Erik ten Hag reportedly eager to add the Chelsea playmaker to his squad over the coming weeks. Mount is recently thought to have emerged as a priority target for the Red Devils, who have been widely tipped to sign at least one new midfielder before the new Premier League season gets underway in August.

Mount will be out of contract at Chelsea in the summer of 2024 as things stand, leaving the Blues with a dilemma over whether to sell him this summer or risk losing him on a free transfer in a year’s time. Discussions over the possibility of an extension have reportedly taken place behind closed doors in recent months, although talks are seemingly at an impasse with neither party willing to budge.

United are reportedly looking to capitalise on the situation by engaging with Chelsea over the possibility of a summer move for Mount later this week, according to Sky Sports. It is said that internal discussions over the structure of a potential offer have been ongoing for some time, while Mount himself is thought to be open to the idea of leaving Stamford Bridge to embark on a new challenge with the Red Devils.

Chelsea have reportedly slapped a £70m price tag on Mount but any deal to see him join United could end up costing the FA Cup finalists more than £120m as a result of the wages that would be required to snap him up. Recent reports have suggested that Mount wants to be paid similarly to Chelsea team-mate Reece James, who signed a new six-year deal in September thought to be worth around £250,000 per week.

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It would seem, therefore, that Mount could be set for a move to United if the Red Devils are willing to spend the required £70m and pay him close to James’ figure at around £200,000 per week. This would amount to a total figure of £52m without bonuses if Mount is given a five-year contract at Old Trafford, bringing the full value of the deal up to around £122m when his transfer fee is taken into account.

However, only time will tell if the proposed move ends up coming to fruition for Mount and United, with any switch to Old Trafford set to depend on whether the Red Devils can agree financial terms as the 24-year-old enters the final year of his existing contract at Stamford Bridge.

United legend Gary Neville recently suggested that Mount would be a shrewd acquisition for his former club due to his ability to succeed under the guidance of Ten Hag, who has a fondness for developing technical players and would certainly be well-placed to help the Chelsea man realise his full potential at Old Trafford.

“Mason Mount is a coach’s player,” Neville told Sky Sports. “I think that is the best way to describe him and there have been many I have seen in my lifetime in football where they get more respect from the coaching staff for what they do than they do from the fans that are watching them.

“I’m not surprised Mason Mount is a target for Manchester United. I don’t think it would be a priority here, but he [Ten Hag] does want midfield players. You think about Dutch coaches, they want to dominate possession, he [Ten Hag] wants [Frenkie] de Jong, he wants players who can handle the ball.

“He loves [Christian] Eriksen, he loves [Marcel] Sabitzer, he loves [Bruno] Fernandes. He’s left Fred and [Scott] McTominay out of the team more often than not because he loves more technical players and Mason Mount is a technical player who is available.”

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