‘Needs to change’: Paul Merson baffled by rumours of Chelsea wanting to sell their 24-year-old

Add as preferred source on Google

Paul Merson has urged Chelsea to keep their midfielder Mason Mount as the club are expected to offload several players this summer to trim the squad.

The Blues’ squad size, with over 30 first-team players, has reached a point where it causes more problems than it benefits the team.

Thiago Silva notably complained about how the players did not even fit into a normal-sized dressing room anymore in an interview following Chelsea’s defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Chelsea are therefore expected to try to sell some of their players to cut the squad to a more manageable size.

There are already several names linked with possible summer exits, including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Hakim Ziyech, but Merson insisted that Mount should not be on this list.

“There are 30 players there — it’s ridiculous,” the former England international told Sky Sports when speaking about Chelsea’s current squad (via Football Daily).

“For me, you’ve got to keep Mason Mount straight away.

“Mount looks like the one going [this summer], and you’re like ‘wow’.

“All right, he hasn’t been great this season and hasn’t been playing a lot because of his injury, but he’s one of their standout players last season and one of England’s best players.

“So, for me, it needs to change quickly.”

What Merson might have forgotten is that the uncertainty over Mount’s future at Chelsea stems from his contract situation rather than the club’s not wanting him.

This is exactly why Chelsea are still said to be in talks with the midfielder over a new contract despite the previous reported rejections in the first place.

If Mount refuses to sign a new deal, Chelsea will be left with two options: keep him for another year despite the risk of losing him for free at the end of next season, or cash in on him this summer.

Understandably, Chelsea reportedly prefer the latter in that case.

The question is now whether Chelsea should agree to Mount’s terms, which would likely make him one of the club’s highest earners, or sell him and sign a replacement, who would also likely demand a similar salary, anyway.

Joao Felix, for example, who is on loan from Atletico Madrid, earns more than £250,000-a-week, which Chelsea are now covering, per Sky Sports.

It is very unlikely that he would agree to reduce his wages if he were to join Chelsea permanently.

Keep up to date with all the latest Chelsea news and opinion by following The Chelsea Chronicle’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.