Chelsea are looking at two players as potential replacements for Mason Mount despite the club’s plans to hold further talks over an extension with the versatile midfielder, according to The Telegraph.
Mount has entered the final 20 months of his contract at the club and is reportedly not close to signing a new deal.
The Telegraph claims that the 23-year-old is still expected to extend his deal, but it could take time.
The Blues are said to be looking at AS Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini and Villarreal’s Yeremy Pino as “contingency plans” for the unlikely case that Mount leaves the club.
The report adds that both Pellegrini and Pino have already been under Chelsea’s radar since the club’s squad revamp over the summer.
Chelsea look at two attackers as possible replacements for Mount
Pellegrini is three years older than Mount, and is the captain at Roma under Jose Mourinho. Similar to Mount, he mostly plays as an attacking midfielder.
Pino, on the other hand, is still 19 and is a right winger. The Telegraph mentions that a number of Premier League clubs have also kept an eye on the teenager who is expected to have a price tag of over £40million.
Reaching a new deal with Mount, whom Glenn Hoddle believes has regained his “mojo” back under new manager Graham Potter, is reportedly still a priority for the club.
The England international also started in Potter’s first four games in charge, which clearly suggests that he is an important part of the manager’s plans.
Last month, fellow Chelsea academy graduate Reece James signed a six-year contract with the club, which reportedly makes him the highest-paid defender in the club’s history.
It seems unlikely that the new ownership group is unwilling to offer a similarly lucrative contract to the team’s back-to-back player of the season.
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