Mason Mount Is Pure Chelsea He Shouldn’t Go To Manchester United

After scoring the final goal which sealed progress to the Champions League Final in 2021, Mason Mount summoned memories of the club’s last great European triumph.

“For me, it started the dream,” said Mount of Chelsea’s 2012 victory over Bayern Munich which took place when he was just 13.

“I was at home in my front room, watching with my family. My dad let me stay up and watch the game. It was unbelievable, to see the atmosphere, see the celebrations and see the legends that were at this club achieve greatness.

“I want to do it with this team and we’ve given ourselves a great opportunity to achieve it.”

Although he hails from the South Coast and was raised a Portsmouth fan, connections to elite clubs don’t come much deeper than Mount’s to Chelsea.

He’s been with the club since the age of 4 and his rise to influential member of the first team is a rarity in the modern game.

Understandably Chelsea fans’ affection for the young midfielder has been strong over the years and the bond the two share is deep.

When he scored that crucial goal against Real one of Mount’s first thoughts was how, because of the Covid enforced limitations on crowd numbers, so few got to enjoy it.

“I was gutted we couldn’t share this moment with the fans because it would have been extra special. It’s a different story when it’s a packed-out Stamford Bridge. I know what it’s like but there are boys who don’t know yet.

“They’re waiting to feel that atmosphere, to feel the crowd. We tell them how good they are and what an unbelievable connection we have with them. I can’t wait for them to come back and give us that support inside the ground.”

When several weeks later Mount and his teammates were holding the trophy aloft in Portugal he emphasized again how meaningful the victory was for him personally.

“I know it [Chelsea] in and out – I’ve been there as a kid and now to go all the way in the Champions League final […] I can’t put it into words,” he said in the aftermath.

“At this moment in time, we’re the best team in the world – you can’t take that away from us.

“My dad has just come down from the stands – I burst into tears seeing him. I thank my family for everything.”

But just two years on from that emotional night and Mount is on the verge of leaving the club.

Three offers have been tabled from Manchester United for the star midfielder who has one year remaining on his current contract.

According to reports, Mount wants to leave with Old Trafford his preferred destination.

So how did it come to this?

Why Would ‘The Boy With A Dream Leave?’

As speculation about a switch to Manchester United gained momentum, many mocked the fact the Chelsea fans had honored Mount in a manner normally reserved for longer-serving club legends.

A giant banner with the midfielder’s picture alongside the words “Mason Mount – The Boy Who Had A Dream” has appeared in the Shed End at Stamford Bridge.

That a player who could generate such love has gone sour on the club has less to do with the Blues supporters and more to do with its hierarchy.

As Mount’s contract continued to tick down last year, it became clear the club was not willing to provide the type of offer he was hoping for.

It didn’t help his cause that, after Thomas Tuchel’s departure in the Autumn of 2022, the midfielder failed to establish himself in Graham Potter’s starting 11.

An endless parade of new arrivals during this period created a scenario where balancing the books and offering Mount the contract he felt he deserved was increasingly difficult.

This means, with one year remaining on his contract, any chance of cashing in on the player will have to be this summer.

The market value Mount holds is far greater than other players at the club because he’s homegrown a status that Premier League squads need to meet a particular quota for.

It’s difficult to know why he was identified as the one to leave though.

Perhaps it was the ample supply of other players in his position that pushed the ownership to consider him the most disposable asset.

But that doesn’t make the pain of losing a player with such longstanding ties any easier.

He may not have had a particularly successful spell as caretaker boss at the end of this season, but as a true Chelsea legend, Frank Lampard’s insight on the stand-off has been illuminating.

“I think it is a difficult situation. From working with Mason and other players when I was here before, they’ve either gone on to be really important players for the club that have a real relationship with the fans [or they] have moved on to other clubs and the club have done well out of that.” the former captain said.

“I don’t know exactly where Mason is at personally. He’s got a year left on his contract. I know he’s held in high regard at the club and I know the club are doing what they can to make him stay.

“But I think also with Mason, I’d never want to stand here and talk in the modern day about what a player should do, because they’ll see it all with their own eyes.

“In the old days, it was, ‘Why are you leaving the club?’ In the modern day, players move on. It’s a shame we’ve got into a situation where it looks like it’s happening maybe now.”

It might be the modern game, but it doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking for Blues fans.

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