If Manchester United’s hardline stance over their bid for Mason Mount doesn’t draw Chelsea back to the table, then finding an alternative midfielder will be another challenge in what is proving to be a complicated transfer window.
United had hoped to make Mount their first signing of the summer and a move for the 24-year-old looked the easiest to do, with Erik ten Hag also keen on a goalkeeper and a striker. But circumstances have conspired against United.
Chelsea’s need to sell has eased following the imminent departures of Mateo Kovacic to Manchester City and Kai Havertz to Arsenal, while Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly and Hakim Ziyech are all closing in on moves to Saudi Arabia. Chelsea needed to raise transfer funds by the end of June to balance the books and they have done just that.
So selling Mount is no longer time sensitive for Chelsea. A departure this summer remains likely, with the England international out of contract next year, but the negotiating position of his club has been strengthened.
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That’s led to United having three bids for the midfielder rejected, the latest worth £50million and a further £5million in add-ons. That offer remains available to Chelsea, but United have no plans to increase it and are now exploring alternative targets.
One of those is Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, but the 21-year-old is a different profile of player to Mount and is likely to cost at least £80million this summer. Instead, the ideal alternative to Mount might have already left the Amex Stadium this summer.
For the final couple of months of this season, it was Liverpool who were heavily linked with Mount as they sought to rebuild their midfield, having pulled out of the chase for Jude Bellingham, while United were mentioned in dispatches around World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister.
But the situation flipped fairly quickly and Mac Allister signed for Liverpool on June 8. It was a quick deal that began the process of Jurgen Klopp reshaping his midfield and the fee is thought to be around £35million, thanks to a release clause in the Argentine’s contract.
United might have settled on Mount as their top target in midfield, with Ten Hag a fan of the player since his 2017/18 loan spell in the Eredivisie, but Mac Allister would have been another option. In terms of profile, he is closer to Mount than Caicedo.
Instead, Liverpool got a clear run at a player who wanted to sign for them. We’ll never know if that would have changed had United made a move for the 24-year-old.
What we can say is that he would have been a good fit for Ten Hag’s midfield and the deal would have been easy to do. Capable of playing anywhere in central areas, Mac Allister has operated in advanced and deeper positions this season.
According to Transfermarkt, he started 18 games in a defensive midfield position, seven in central midfield and 11 in attacking midfield. That is similar to the versatility that Mount can bring.
But it’s Liverpool who will benefit from those attributes next season. They acted quickly and decisively to make an early signing in this window,
United would have felt that they had the opportunity to do the same with Mount, but now that deal has become more complicated than expected, it has left them chasing alternatives.
