Joe Cole has urged Chelsea to tie Mason Mount down to a new contract as a priority.
Mount’s current deal is set to expire at the end of next season and he has yet to agree a new deal amidst interest from Liverpool.
The 24-year-old has received criticism for his recent form, with Graham Potter‘s side having struggled.
However, former Chelsea star Cole believes that the Blues need to remember how good a player Mount is and the impact that he has made in recent years.
Cole told 90min: ‘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?’.’
Cole is adamant that Mount will ‘come good’ and rediscover his best form.
He said: ‘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 have reportedly put contract talks with Mount on hold. Mount is believed to want to treble his current wages of £80,000-a-week and is eager to remain at Stamford Bridge.
Mount reportedly earns around a quarter of what his England team-mate Raheem Sterling does at Chelsea.
Chelsea’s current priority is improving their results, with the club currently languishing in tenth place in the Premier League.
They are back in action on Sunday when they face Tottenham away.
Chelsea academy product Mount has made 191 senior appearances for the club in total, during which time he has scored 33 goal and provided 37 assists. He won the Champions League with the Blues in 2021.
SOURCE: dailymail.co.uk
