New club emerges as favourites to sign Chelsea’s Mason Mount

The England midfielder has fallen out of favour at Chelsea and not even the return of his former mentor Frank Lampard as interim manager appears to have kick-started his Stamford Bridge career.

There have been suggestions that Liverpool are leading the race to sign Mount, yet there are fresh reports in the UK that the 24-year-old favours a move to Manchester United.

Incoming Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is reported to be an admirer of Mount, but interim Blues boss Lampard concedes the player may opt to move this summer.

“It’s a hard one for me to comment on because I’m not inside Mason’s head and from the club’s point of view my role is clearly what it is,” said Lampard, ahead of his side’s trip to face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Thursday night.

“In the practical sense it’s completely between both sides on that front. I’m not surprised because this is football. Does everyone know that I really like Mason Mount as a lad and as a football player? Yes, sure, of course they do.

“I wish him the best personally and sitting here with my Chelsea top on now, I’ve seen what Mason has delivered at this club, but we’ll see.

“I think, to be fair to this club in the last few years particularly we’ve seen the hard work of the academy for a long, long time, people like (academy head) Neil Bath and (head of youth development) Jim Fraser.

“(Players) have come through and been very good and now it’s delivered in terms of people that are affecting the team, or have been sold on for big money.

“That’s been a real positive so I think it’s important we try and keep that feeling that younger players can see a pathway to get into the Chelsea team and play for the team they will grow to love, which is Mason, which is Reece James etc.

“Of course in an ideal world those players stay with the club, but again in modern football it isn’t always that clear.”

Mount has yet to make any public comment on his future plans, with United and Liverpool facing the prospect of a bidding battle.