'Bad business' - Chelsea warned summer sale could make rivals title-contenders

Stuart Telford

• 23 Mar 2023 18:03 GMT
• 3 min read

It is looking increasingly likely that Chelsea and Mason Mount will part ways next summer, something Paul Merson thinks will likely make Liverpool title contenders.

Mount is out of contract at Chelsea in the summer of 2024, but player and club are struggling to come to terms on an extension.

The Blues made Mount's fellow academy graduate Reece James their highest-paid defender ever in September, paying him £250,000 per week, but Mount remains on the £80,000 from the deal he signed in 2019.

READ: Mason Mount: Chelsea tell Liverpool and Man Utd their asking price

Mount's argument is that he had 11 goals and 10 assists in the Premier League last season and has long since broken into the England first team, while the Blues can point to his abject form in the here and now.

Liverpool have been heavily linked with a move for Mount, but Merson - who won the league with Arsenal in 1989 and 1991 - thinks the Reds could end up Premier League champions at Chelsea's expense should a deal come to pass.

— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) February 21, 2023

Merson: 'why would you take that chance?'

"Mason Mount was by far Chelsea's best player last season. He was outstanding," he told Sky Sports. "It's different when you come through the ranks at a football club because you cost nothing. When you get bought for a lot of money you're viewed as more of an asset.

READ: Mason Mount hires new agent as Liverpool transfer moves closer

"You don't offload your best players. There are so many players that need to get shipped out of this Chelsea squad before Mount. The kid can play. It's bad business by Chelsea - they should give him what he's asking for.

"If Liverpool go and get Mount and then Jude Bellingham, who could also go to Liverpool, you've got a title-contending team. Why would you want to chance that if you're Chelsea? Why would you make them stronger?"

Todd Boehly has spent more than £600 million on players in the two transfer windows since he succeeded Roman Abramovich as Chelsea owner, with the financial regulations set to be tightened, cashing in on Mount a year before he leaves for free could prove a necessity.