
Manchester United
Premier League • England
Man Utd list of Mason Mount alternatives ‘finalised’ as insider offers clues after Chelsea rejection

The chances of Man Utd backing out of a deal to sign Mason Mount from Chelsea seem to be increasing as reports shed light on who else the club might turn to.
Mount is about to enter the final year of his contract at Chelsea, who are reluctantly planning to sell their academy graduate this summer. He has attracted interest from numerous clubs, but Man Utd have emerged as his preferred destination.
Their attempts to prise him away from Chelsea have not been successful yet, though. Man Utd are believed to have seen three offers rejected by the Blues so far.
Now, they are threatening to walk away from a deal, feeling that Chelsea’s £65m asking price is too high given his contract status and desire to move.
But Man Utd will not want to completely abandon their efforts to strengthen their midfield. Therefore, they may have to widen their search beyond Erik ten Hag’s top target.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Man Utd have already ‘finalised’ a long list of targets for their midfield – as they have, in fact, for all positions.
The process concluded in April, according to the report, though Man Utd obviously still have time to work on who their next target instead of Mount should be.
The MEN claims there are ‘at least four’ other midfield targets in mind, in addition to Mount. None of them, unfortunately, have been revealed in the report.
However, elsewhere, Dean Jones has revealed to Give Me Sport some of the names who could be in contention to replenish the Man Utd midfield.
Jones’ report highlights six potential options, so it remains to be seen which are the most concrete targets that may correlate with the shortlist that the MEN was referring to.
Man Utd linked with Bayern pair and four other Mason Mount alternatives
Anyway, the players in question are Leon Goretzka and Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern Munich, West Ham’s Declan Rice, Juventus’ Adrien Rabiot, Southampton’s Romeo Lavia and Everton’s Amadou Onana.
Man Utd already did business with Bayern over a midfielder in January when they took Marcel Sabitzer on loan. However, it looks like he will be returned to sender.
His place in the squad could yet be taken by someone he was a colleague of in the first section of the season. That said, Goretzka is said to be leaning towards fighting for his place.
Gravenberch, in contrast, seems to be ‘more willing’ to come to the Premier League – though that could yet be with Liverpool instead of Man Utd – after not getting the gametime he wanted in his first season in Munich. He previously progressed under Ten Hag at Ajax.
A deal for Rice looks difficult due to the money required and the competition for his signature. Furthermore, Rabiot might be off limits if he signs a new deal with Juventus.
Lavia and Onana, meanwhile, are more being watched from a distance. But if their interest in Mount ends due to Chelsea’s high demands – similar to what has been the case for Harry Kane from Tottenham in their striker search – Man Utd will have to choose a new route to go down pretty quickly.
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