Mason Mount, a standout for Chelsea, has used social media to bid another club farewell as the player exodus continues in earnest. The Blues plan to quickly dispose six members of their roster before a June 30 soft deadline for selling first team players in an effort to balance the books.
While Hakim Ziyech and Kalidou Koulibaly are about to move with Edouard Mendy into Saudi Arabia, they are also being sold. After his contract was not renewed, N’Golo Kante likewise headed for the Saudi Pro League’s exit. Mateo Kovacic and Kai Havertz will now go to Arsenal and Manchester City, respectively.
While all of this was going on, Mount was negotiating a possible transfer from Stamford Bridge to Manchester United. He only has a year left on his own deal, and for months it had been assumed he would either sign an extension or be sold.
The 24-year-old’s future is as hazy as ever following three proposals from Old Trafford that Chelsea has all rejected and matched. The athlete will now be in a state of limbo as he plans the next phase of his career because there are conflicting messages coming from all three sides.
He is far from the only player in this position, with Christian Pulisic also waiting for further confirmation as to what is next in his story. Romelu Lukaku and Conor Gallagher are also in a state of uncertainty heading into the month of pre-season.
For now, though, they can be certain that they will not be playing with Koulibaly at SW6 next season as his transfer was confirmed by the club on Sunday. After joining for £35 million ($44.5m) last summer, he is now going to be one of the new stars of Al-Hilal.
The Senegal center back wrote in a farewell letter to Chelsea supporters: “From my first game to my last, it was a pleasure to wear this badge.
We didn’t get the season we wanted this past season, but I still want to thank the club’s supporters and everyone for their help.
The 32-year-old, who was one of the marquee signings in the first Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital window, departs after failing to fully acclimatize to the Premier League but brings back a respectable quantity of money for the team.
Koulibaly definitely had a great impact on his teammates despite mistakes throughout his one season in England, as Reece James noted on Instagram: “What a dude. What an actor. I’m going to miss you, big brother, and my French classes [tears of emotion].
Mount, meantime, has responded to Koulibaly’s message by simply commenting, “All the best brother!” Since the most recent rumors about his future have surfaced, it is the first time he has spoken up, much alone in this way. We are currently waiting to see if Mount will follow Koulibaly out of the club.
