Man Utd are weighing up the possibility of including Harry Maguire in a deal to sign Mason Mount from Chelsea this summer.
The Red Devils are one of a number of clubs looking to sign Mount this summer with the Blues prepared to sell if the England international refuses to sign a new deal this summer.
Chelsea owner Todd Boehly is reportedly worried about losing him for nothing next summer when his contract expires and will consider offers.
It seems that Man Utd are currently closest to getting a transfer over the line, although transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has claimed that a deal is “not imminent”.
Romano wrote on Twitter: “Mason Mount, keen on joining Manchester United as talks are taking place behind the scenes. No issues on personal terms but deal not advanced yet as there’s big gap between clubs #MUFC Chelsea keep asking for at least €80m fee for Mount. Deal not imminent, at this stage.”
And now The Sun claims that Man Utd could attempt to use Maguire as a makeweight as part of a ‘sensational transfer package’ in a bid to ‘snare’ Mount from Chelsea.
Maguire is likely to leave Old Trafford in the summer transfer window with Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez emerging as his preferred centre-back pairing this season, while Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw have also started ahead of Maguire.
New Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino tried to sign Maguire from Hull City earlier in his career but ‘Kalidou Koulibaly and Trevoh Chalobah would have to be offloaded first’.
There was a report yesterday suggesting Man Utd are so desperate to get his wages off their books that they are willing to pay £10m to secure a move away from Old Trafford.
READ MORE: Mason Mount to Man Utd the unacceptable cherry on top of Todd Boehly’s sh*t Chelsea sundae
Man Utd legend Paul Scholes has doubts whether Mount will give the Red Devils what they need as he “hasn’t really kicked on” over the last 12 months.
Scholes told Premier League Productions: “Look, I like Mason Mount … does he do enough? I thought when he first came onto the scene, ‘have got a new Frank Lampard?’. I know we talked before about not comparing players to these types.
“But I expected him to score goals, a lot more goals, in big games, to win you games, he hasn’t really kicked on from there. I think a change of club might not be a bad thing for him.”
But former team-mate Gary Neville is “not surprised” that Mount is a target for Man Utd with Erik ten Hag looking for midfield players.
Neville said on Sky Sports: “Mason Mount is a coach’s player, 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.”
Neville added: “So 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 that [Frenkie] de Jong, he wants players who can handle the ball.
“He loves Eriksen, he loves [Marcel] Sabitzer, he loves 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.”
