It certainly took long enough, and all Manchester United had to do was walk away (or at least pretend like they are/were) from the deal, but Mason Mount is on the move. Chelsea finally acquiesced a bit in their pricing, and now the first signing of the summer is headed to Old Trafford.
It is indeed Here We Go time, as per the embedded tweet below, via Fabrizio Romano.
BREAKING: Manchester United agree £60m package deal for Mason Mount with Chelsea — it’s done, here we go! ?? #MUFC
Personal terms agreed weeks ago and face to face talks between clubs made it clear: the agreement is done.
Mount becomes Utd player — they NEVER left the race. pic.twitter.com/tusESsyp2x
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 29, 2023
So I guess United never really did play hardball on this one? Or did they? They bid at least four different times, at least according to reports.
Who out-negotiated who is a moot point, but because you always knew Chelsea had to sell now anyway. The Blues broke in price on all the other misfit players they sold off this summer, so it was inevitable they would do it for Mason Mount too.
As is the case with some of the other Chelsea players that don’t fit into Mauricio Pochettino’s plans, the English international midfielder had just one year left on his deal.
He wasn’t going to renew, so Chelsea had to negotiate from a position of weakness, given that he could walk away on a Bosman transfer, as a free agent next summer.
Chelsea had to take the money now.
As for Manchester United, welcome to the 2023 summer transfer window, glad you could finally join us here. It was extremely late to get started, but hey, United now have their first signing of the summer.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.