Chelsea Transfers

[Vesper 28,430]

Fabrizio Romano's Daily Briefing

https://caughtoffside.substack.com/p/excl-man-utd-still-pushing-for-mason#§man-utd-have-mason-mount-alternatives-but-transfer-face-off-with-Chelsea-continues

EXCL: Man Utd still PUSHING for Mason Mount but have alternatives, Declan Rice race remains OPEN, plus Eddie Nketiah, Jeremie Frimpong & Mohammed Kudus updates

My latest exclusive column, featuring major stories at Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal, and more!

 

 

 

Man Utd have Mason Mount alternatives but transfer face-off with Chelsea continues

 

The position of Manchester United on Mason Mount remains very clear - the interest is still there, the idea to sign him is still there. Their final bid of £50m plus £5m add-ons is still valid, still on the table. United consider it their final bid, and even though Chelsea have rejected it for now, United consider it still valid, so if Chelsea change their minds, United are prepared to complete the deal.

Chelsea’s stance is still that they have asked for a package worth £65m, add-ons included. For United, the intention is clear - they have no intention to arrive at that fee, they want to pay £55m.

Of course Man United have alternatives in case this move doesn’t work out, but I’m still told the focus now is on the Mount deal. They want to get it done at their conditions, the situation will be discussed again this week; in or out, for sure. Man United don’t want any extra-tax just because they spent big money on players recently; fair price or nothing.

But it’s also worth saying that Man United feel Mount will not sign new deal at Chelsea and only wants to join them. Chelsea will look to clarify the situation in conversations with Mount, but for now, my understanding is that the player’s position is clear - he leaves now, or he moves on a free transfer next year. He’s not going to extend his contract, so this is the situation Chelsea are facing.

Despite reports, I’m not aware of Bayern Munich working to hijack this deal. Thomas Tuchel is a big fan, but they have different priorities, including centre-back and a striker. At the moment, there is also no signal from Liverpool in terms of joining the race, as they’re busy with other midfielders, and also Mount is focused on United. He’s really focused on Manchester United as next step for his career; and one of the reasons why Man Utd insist a lot is that they feel Mount only wants them.

Declan Rice’s future still open, plus interest in Eddie Nketiah

 

We heard a lot about an official Manchester City bid for Declan Rice, and it could still happen, but also Arsenal plan to submit a third proposal for the West Ham United captain this week. The race remains open between Man City and Arsenal, waiting for the bids and also for West Ham position. Payment terms will also be important, West Ham want big money paid now and not in four or five instalments.

 

As I revealed a couple of days ago, contacts have taken place between City and Rice on the player side. Mikel Arteta has been trying his best to sign Rice for Arsenal, but City are still there as well. Nothing is decided yet, but we could have a crucial few days ahead.

Reminder: Arsenal will also bid again for Jurrien Timber. Personal terms are no issue, they’ve already been agreed with the Ajax defender.

Finally, on another Arsenal rumour, I’m honestly not convinced about reports that Eddie Nketiah could be sold this summer. He signed a new deal last year, and he’s always been highly rated at Arsenal. For sure there are many clubs who have been tracking Nketiah for a long time but nothing is concrete in terms of chances to leave the club now.

Other players to keep an eye on…

 

Mohammed Kudus - At the moment, Brighton are really pushing for the Ajax star. Let’s see if other clubs enter the race but it’s not something concrete at this stage. Brighton will try, they know it’s a very difficult deal due to asking price and more factors, but they are in talks. The precise price tag is not clear yet, I will update on that later this week.

Jeremie Frimpong - Formally he has not changed agent; his agent Jeffrey Lemmert has partnered with new agency to work together on Frimpong’s future. His agent met Bayern, Barcelona and Man United in April but nothing is advanced at this stage for the fullbacks market in general, same for Joao Cancelo and Denzel Dumfries. I think his asking price could be around £30-35m.

 

 

[Vesper 28,430]

• Mason Mount’s message to Chelsea is clear - full details here.

• My understanding is Nicolas Jackson’s contract at Chelsea will be valid until June 2031 — it’s an eight year deal! His medical was completed over two days. Chelsea will pay €37m to Villarreal, which is a bit more than his release clause but with better payment terms.

• After Kalidou Koulibaly’s departure was made official, Edouard Mendy will be the next Chelsea player to travel to Saudi for medicals today.

• Chelsea and Al Nassr are also confident to get documents signed for Hakim Ziyech between Monday and Tuesday. He is another Chelsea player expected to complete a move to Saudi Arabia.

• I understand Athletic Bilbao is not a concrete option for Cesar Azpilicueta. the Chelsea defender has agreed personal terms with Inter and has no intention to consider other proposals, as of now. A two year deal in place but it all depends on Chelsea’s green light to let him go as a free agent.

[King Kante 1,456]

11 minutes ago, Clockwork said:

Lmao is this Mount deal is being held up over 5m, how broke is United? You guys worried about them going after Caicedo.

My feeling on Mount is I have seen enough to know what he is capable of, a very good player but not a player like Salah or KDB where I am like what could have been. 
 

Mount has been better than Havertz, still feel Havertz potentially could be a special player.

We keep talking about KDB and Salah, we already let that type of player go already he is at Bayern.

Personally, I am not that convinced Mount is absolutely determined to leave (although I am not as sure about this as I was before January.) 

Things could've changed from his position - for instance he may have been testing the waters to see what kind of offers he could get (this I wouldn't begrudge him as everyone should be doing that with their employer) - and the club may be thinking it is better to keep hold of him. Especially when you look at the prices other players go for in his age bracket and how every manager he has played for has liked him a lot. 

The biggest stumbling block always seemed to be the length of contract. Maybe their could be some sort of deal struck where it is five years with +2 that the club can activate with a certain amount. 

Either way, I doubt the whole deal is being held up over 8%/£5m. Especially owing to his amortisation and only having one year left. This whole notion the club are holding out for £5m in a £55m/£60m deal seems like BS that idiots in the media/Twitter spread to get some clicks. 

Edited June 26, 2023 by King Kante

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4 hours ago, Special Juan said:

Whats this about us going for Osimhen

it's bollocks

[OneMoSalah 8,754]

38 minutes ago, Vesper said:

£12.5m is a shit price for RLC

surely there are EPL clubs that would pay a lot more, based off a tonne of £20m+ deals they do for players who are worse

Him and CHO are on huge wages though, 125-150k apparently? so getting around the same or a bit more for CHO and the 12.5m for RLC is good enough. Can’t be too picky getting certain prices for the likes of them two and a few others who are miles off it.

[robsblubot 3,469]

Regarding the Mount situation, I still think the money is largely irrelevant. What we have is 23 home grown Chelsea player who is forcing his move to a rival. He still has a year left, which gives the club leverage. Apparently he may think that perhaps he hasn't been considered an important player at the club, considering he wasn't among the highest earners, but he's still 23 and this would be the time to strike that big contract deal. Suppose he saw the grass a bit greener in Manchester.

I'd also be a lot more comfortable if the players staying were better than Mount, which I don't think is the case at all.

[TheHulk 1,825]

Matt and his delusions are back.

[TheHulk 1,825]

 

[Mhsc 866]

Not been crazy keen on Vlahovic but if it is in a deal that gets Lukaku off the books and we are not paying too much for him then it would be good business probably. 

[King Kante 1,456]

1 minute ago, Mhsc said:

Not been crazy keen on Vlahovic but if it is in a deal that gets Lukaku off the books and we are not paying too much for him then it would be good business probably. 

I am a bit unsure about him to. Not sure he'll ever be an elite striker - although at 23 he still has a bit of time to prove me wrong - but he is probably the best 'gettable' CF on the market.

If he comes here I suspect he would be CF1 and give us 15 goals in the league, which is eons beyond what we've been getting, even if it isn't great when compared with other CF's. 

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3 minutes ago, King Kante said:

I am a bit unsure about him to. Not sure he'll ever be an elite striker - although at 23 he still has a bit of time to prove me wrong - but he is probably the best 'gettable' CF on the market.

If he comes here I suspect he would be CF1 and give us 15 goals in the league, which is eons beyond what we've been getting, even if it isn't great when compared with other CF's. 

well, IF we are doing another CF (one that is ready to lead the line IF Jackson is not ready) this summer, it's Dusan or Lautaro

no other real, actually doable (price-wise included) options unless you go for players that the vast majority of the board do not rate, as I have extensively shown

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11 minutes ago, King Kante said:

I am a bit unsure about him to. Not sure he'll ever be an elite striker - although at 23 he still has a bit of time to prove me wrong - but he is probably the best 'gettable' CF on the market.

If he comes here I suspect he would be CF1 and give us 15 goals in the league, which is eons beyond what we've been getting, even if it isn't great when compared with other CF's. 

strange regression, as he had 29 goals, 24 in the league, in 2021/22

[Mhsc 866]

I mean he’d be a clear upgrade on our current situation but it only makes sense if the deal makes sense. Otherwise would rather wait. 

[Cosmin 2,484]

Lukaku is the better player here, but considering the circumstances…

[King Kante 1,456]

48 minutes ago, Vesper said:

strange regression, as he had 29 goals, 24 in the league, in 2021/22

Tbf, Juve weren't great last season. 

[Clockwork 1,794]

39 minutes ago, Cosmin said:

Lukaku is the better player here, but considering the circumstances…

Stop

47 minutes ago, Vesper said:

strange regression, as he had 29 goals, 24 in the league, in 2021/22

Could be a case of bad fit at Juventus.

[ZAPHOD2319 4,423]

 

[King Kante 1,456]

So, as it stands the squad is looking like the following for next season, so far: 

GK: Kepa, Betti, Gaga

CB - Silva, Badi, Fofana, Trev, Colwill

WB - James, Chilwell, Cucu, Melo

CM - Enzo, Gallagher, Carney, Hall(?), Mount, RLC

AM - Sterling, Noni, Mudryk, Pulisic, CHO

CF - Broja, Jackson

Italics means players with futures undecided. 

That for me is really light. CM looks crazy light with the italics as does every area bar WB and possibly GK, depending on your thoughts of Kepa. For me, we need at least 5 more players -

CF (Broja and Jackson cannot be used as CF1) -

CM x 2 (1 if Mount stays as I suspect we go 433 and he slots in at No.8  

AM

GK (I really cannot be doing with Kepa.) 

Then there is CB. Silva is 39, Fofana is always injured, Badi is currently injured. Something may have to be done there if Trev is sold.