EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea legend Joe Cole urges club to agree new Mason Mount contract
By Tom Gott
Joe Cole has urged Chelsea to agree a new contract with academy graduate Mason Mount as soon as possible.
Mount, 24, has entered the final 18 months of his current deal and has thus far rebuffed offers from the club to extend, although 90min understands the midfielder is still looking to commit his future to Chelsea.
Meanwhile, clubs from across the Premier League and Europe are monitoring Mount's situation, with Liverpool known to be particularly keen admirers of the England international.
Chelsea have tied other academy graduates like Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James and Armando Broja down to new contracts this season, but club legend Cole insists the Blues' new regime must add Mount's name to that list as soon as possible.
Speaking exclusively to 90min, Cole said: "Mason Mount is probably sitting there thinking: 'I have performed for this club for three or four years now, I won the Champions League, I've been pushed forward in every campaign...'.
"He's a leader, he sacrifices himself for the team. He wants to stay at Chelsea, I'm sure he does. I don't for the life of me understand, and I don't know the dealings - they're probably far apart on where they're valuing each other. He probably thinks: 'Where do I sit?'.
Watch 90min's exclusive interview with Joe Cole as the Chelsea legend talks to Scott Saunders & Harry Symeou about the pressure mounting on Graham Potter, the need to tie Mason Mount down to a new contract, the club's transfer policy and more.
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"He's out the team now, which is a dangerous position to be in for Mason and for Chelsea. Football is very fickle, we can forget what a good player Mason Mount is. Even more so in this generation, players go away for three or four weeks and they're forgotten. I think Chelsea need to remember what a great player he is. He will come good.
"[A contract renewal] would be the top of my list. There must be some middle ground to solve it."
Chelsea remain keen to negotiate with Mount and have not yet given up hope of keeping the midfielder, but a difficult decision will have to be made if he enters the final 12 months of his current contract without inking an extension.