Manchester United have signed Mason Mount after the player received similar contract offers from Chelsea and Liverpool, according to a report.
After making three bids to sign the England midfielder from Chelsea, the Red Devils finally got their man, announcing the £55million plus £5m in add-ons signing on Wednesday morning.
Mount joined the Blues at the age of six and went on to make 195 appearances for his boyhood club, most notably winning the Champions League in 2021.
United manager Erik ten Hag made Mount his number-one target despite his desperate need for a new goalkeeper and striker, with the £55m paid for the 24-year-old more than half his transfer budget, before player sales.
With David de Gea out of contract and Anthony Martial his only recognised striker, Ten Hag will need to offload several players if he wants to improve in both positions, which he desperately needs to do.
He worked hard to get the Mount deal over the line, nevertheless.
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According to The Athletic, United had to compete with a host of Premier League clubs, including Liverpool, to land the former Derby County loanee.
Chelsea were very keen to keep hold of Mount before shooting themselves in the foot in their bid to do so.
The report says the Blues reached a ‘verbal agreement’ over a new long-term contract with the player before the World Cup, only to ‘pull their offer in January’ to instead offer ‘a formal one-year contract’ a month later.
Unsurprisingly, this did not sit well with Mount and his camp, meaning an exit from the club he has represented for 18 years was a real possibility, which was not the midfielder’s original first choice.
Mount eventually agreed personal terms and a five-year contract with United, which would see him earn ‘more than £200,000 per week, potentially rising to £250k with bonuses’, which is in ‘the same ballpark’ as what Chelsea offered, and, interestingly, what Liverpool put on the table.
Before agreeing a move to Old Trafford, Mount was on the ‘radar’ of Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Tottenham and Newcastle United, while the Reds and Arsenal ‘held talks about a move’.
Four weeks after agreeing personal terms with the Red Devils, the 24-year-old has got his wish after talks with Ten Hag and a helping hand in negotiations from his father, Tony.
After Chelsea told United they would not accept their third bid, Mount’s dad ‘had a phone conversation’ with co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali in a bid to reach a transfer agreement, which did eventually help the two Premier League clubs reach an ‘amicable solution’.
Ten Hag made Mount ‘feel wanted’ – which he did no longer feel at Stamford Bridge – during ‘face-to-face talks’, and outlined his plans for the 24-year-old, who is seen as a ‘mobile No. 8’ who can contribute on and off the ball.
It is added that Mount fits the club’s strategy of signing players ‘who really want to play for them, rather than coming for a big payday’.
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