What Chelsea's £200m moves for Rice and Bellingham mean for Mount

Robin Bairner

• 24 Nov 2022 08:55 GMT
• 3 min read

Chelsea are planning a midfield overhaul in the summer of 2023, with reports suggesting that they are ready to spend big to land BOTH Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.

The Daily Telegraph reports that the Blues are prepared to spend up to €232 million (£200m) to land the pair, although whether that is enough to fend off other clubs in what are sure to be two hot pursuits is questionable.

Nevertheless, this raises questions over present midfield star Mason Mount, who occupies a more forward-thinking role than his two England international colleagues.

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Mount in line for new contract

Mount is a player who has 18 months to run on his Chelsea contract and continues to be linked with Inter and Juventus in Serie A. A deal could become possible in the summer if he has just one year left on his deal and the Blues want to cash in on the player. This is not, however, the likeliest scenario.

The Blues want to do everything in their power to keep Mount on their books, with the England man valued at €72 million by FootballTransfers.

This means he stands in line for a bumper pay increase from his estimated current deal of €100,000 (£88,000) a week.

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Indeed, he is set to receive a new wage that is more reflective of his status at Chelsea, where he has won the club’s Player of the Year award in each of the last two campaigns.

This is set to see his wage bumped up by nearly four times to €347,000 (£300,000) per week, matching the type of wage that Chelsea will expect to pay Rice and Bellingham should they complete their moves to the club.

Rather than forcing Mount out of Chelsea, these are deals that will offer the England man greater long-term security and make his contract negotiations easier.