Chelsea reject second Man Utd bid of £50m for England midfielder

Manchester United have had a second bid – worth up to £50m – for Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount rejected.

Mount, 24, is a top target for United manager Erik ten Hag as he looks to strengthen his side following their qualification for next season’s Champions League.

Chelsea spent £600m last season and need to sell players before 30 June to ease Financial Fair Play (FFP) worries.

The Blues are understood to value Mount at about £70m.

On Wednesday, Arsenal agreed a £65m deal to sign Mount’s Chelsea team-mate Kai Havertz, while Manchester City closed in on signing midfielder Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea for £30m.

Mount, who has scored 33 goals in 195 appearances for Chelsea since making his debut in 2019, missed the end of the domestic season with injury as the Blues came 12th – their lowest finish for more than 25 years.

He won the Champions League in 2021 with Chelsea and started their 1-0 win over Manchester City in the final. He also won the Fifa Club World Cup and Uefa Super Cup with the Blues.

He has been capped 36 times by England, scoring five goals, and was part of Gareth Southgate’s squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Mount came through Chelsea’s academy before joining Vitesse on loan for the 2017-18 season, scoring nine goals in 29 Eredivisie appearances.

The following campaign he was loaned to Derby County, scoring eight goals in 35 Championship games under manager Frank Lampard as the Rams suffered a 2-1 defeat by Aston Villa in the play-off final.

Upon his return to Chelsea in 2019, Mount made his breakthrough under the newly appointed Lampard and became a key player at Stamford Bridge.

Last month Chelsea appointed former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager, replacing interim boss Lampard who took over after Graham Potter was sacked.