2
Manchester United’s month-long pursuit of Mason Mount is about to come to a head and details have emerged regarding The Red Devils’ intentions this week.
As reported by The Peoples Person yesterday, the club have agreed to hold direct talks with Chelsea to finally put an end to weeks of negotiations. That has been further corroborated by Fabrizio Romano, who earlier tweeted, “Chelsea and Man United will speak this week. Direct talks.”
United have submitted three bids for Mount, with their latest offer of £50m plus an additional £5m in performance-related addons turned down.
The Blues countered with a demand for £57m, with £8m in bonuses potentially taking the total fee to £65m.
Man United did not take Chelsea up on that offer and initially were thought to be pursuing other targets after becoming jaded by the back-and-forth.
A meeting by Friday suggests that United will continue their pursuit, although The Telegraph reports that the club are determined not to budge from their overall total package of £55m
Instead, Man United are prepared to make adjustments to the structure of their bid, potentially paying a larger sum in guaranteed money and less in bonuses.
Another option would be to adjust the instalment structure, should United’s latest bid involve one.
It is rare for a club to stump up a total of cash all at once, and – while it is unclear if the £50m+£5m bid involved staggered payments – that could be among the ‘finer points’ mentioned by The Telegraph.
What does appear clear is the position of both clubs regarding the necessity of putting this deal behind them.
Neither side wants the transfer saga to affect their respective preseason preparations, and all parties involved are determined to resolve the situation before Mason Mount is due to report back at Cobham for training.
Should Manchester United manage to thrash out a deal for the Chelsea star this week, Erik ten Hag could very well be joined by two new players for the start of his training camp.
Inter Milan’s sporting director is due to hold talks with representatives of both Andre Onana and Man United in a bid to thrash out an agreement for the goalkeeper’s move to Old Trafford this week.
Follow The Peoples Person on Twitter or Instagram for all the latest news as it happens and to join in the conversation.
