‘Extremely happy’: How Manchester United’s first signing made dramatic U-turn

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Manchester United have agreed a deal to sign Mason Mount after negotiating hard with Chelsea.

Mason Mount is set to seal his move to Manchester United after The Athletic reported a fee had been agreed.

The England international will become United’s first signing of the summer, arriving in time for pre-season to begin in early July.

United will pay a fee of £55 million plus £5 million in add-ons, which are said to be ‘difficult’ to achieve. It is a satisfying conclusion to the club’s first ‘saga’ of the summer.

READ: Confirmed Manchester United transfers in, out, loans, releases, youth for 2023/24

Mason Mount’s dramatic turnaround

One of the key reasons Manchester United were able to sign Mason Mount was the midfielder’s expiring contract, which was set to run out in June 2024.

But this time last year Mount was planning on signing a new deal at Chelsea, a desire he expressed.

Speaking to Sky Sports last summer, he said: “I’ve got two years but I’m extremely happy at this club.

“I’ve been here since six years old, so I think maybe over the next couple of months the talks will start, so obviously it’s exciting.”

Fast forward a year, and Mount has agreed to sign for Manchester United, so keen to quit, he agreed personal terms with the Red Devils a month before the clubs settled on a fee.

What went wrong? Well this underlines the blurred strategy at Chelsea since Todd Boehly took over, that an academy star, and Champions League winner, decided there was no future at the club for him.

Chelsea sacked two managers last year, before an equally disastrous Frank Lampard spell, and are now starting again under Mauricio Pochettino.

In the midst of this, a directionless and scattergun transfer approach led to a bloated dressing room, unhappy teammates, and awful results on the pitch which saw Chelsea finish in the bottom half of the table.

Manchester United meanwhile have real direction under Erik ten Hag, and can offer Champions League football.

Talks between Mount and Chelsea broke down earlier this year, which was quite remarkable given how keen he was to re-sign.

Chelsea have made a habit of selling top quality players over the years and regretting it, Kevin de Bruyne and Mo Salah for instance. Let’s hope Mount can attain similar levels of success at Old Trafford.