Chelsea attacking midfielder Mason Mount is not close to reaching an agreement over a new contract, according to The Athletic‘s David Ornstein

The trusted journalist says he has heard conflicting accounts about the current situation regarding negotiations but he believes that the two sides are far apart with regards to a deal:

“With Mount, that is a tense situation, there is no agreement in place. You hear different things from different people on different days. ‘They’re going to reach a compromise’. ‘They’re in trouble with this deal’. I think the previous regime was working towards getting the deal that everyone would have liked but then Chelsea were bought out they’ve got new owners, they’re going to be careful with their numbers.”

“They might have to benchmark it, Reece James has got a new deal. If Mason Mount wants to go ahead of that, how’s that going to affect the chemistry in the camp? Will the new owners at Chelsea try and pitch lower? That negotiation is a really interesting one, that is not done.”

Liverpool and Juventus have been named as the two clubs who are looking to take advantage of Mount’s contract situation if he refuses to sign on the dotted line.

The England international has eighteen months remaining on his current deal and Chelsea will have to make a decision before next summer about selling the player.

There have been some reports that the Blues were more optimistic about an agreement following the last round of talks with Mount’s agents but Ornstein has seemingly poured cold water on those claims. We shall keep an eye on this story for further developments.