Mauricio Pochettino not too concerned by the departure of Mason Mount from Chelsea
In his first press conference as a Chelsea boss, Mauricio Pochettino did not seem overly bothered when asked about the departure of Mason Mount from the club.
A few days ago, it was confirmed that Mount has signed a five-year deal with Manchester United. The deal benefitted Chelsea financially as the Red Devils paid £55m to sign the England international excluding the add-ons.
Mount only had a year left in his contract at the club and there was very little chance of him signing an extension. So, selling was the only option if they had to get a fee from the player’s departure.
Earlier in the summer, it was revealed that Pochettino is doing his best to convince the England international to stay. When asked about the latter’s departure, here’s what the boss said (h/t Mirror):
“When I talk about the future, it’s about the players in the squad. He is a Manchester United player now. I don’t know what happened in the past, we need to be focused on our players and move and try to build a nice story.”
This is good from Pochettino as it sends a message to everyone that he isn’t too bothered by the departure of one of the important players in the Chelsea squad. But given that a new era is dawning, it makes sense for us to reboot the squad in certain spots.
The only consolation could be that the player left the club before the pre-season started. So, the manager knows what he has got to work with from day one of the preparations ahead of the start of the next season. Chelsea have sold players well in the past few weeks.
Mount is not the only midfielder to have left the club this summer though. Mateo Kovacic has gone to Manchester City, N’Golo Kante leaves for free and signs for Al-Ittihad and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will play his football for AC Milan. Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic will join the latter at San Siro.
More Chelsea News
- Chelsea are keen to replace Manchester United-bound Mason Mount with Gabri Veiga
- Tottenham Hotspur offer Harry Kane a lucrative new contract amidst Chelsea interest
- Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic to AC Milan is a done deal now
For the club and Pochettino, as the latter rightly said, it is time to move on from the players that have left the building. The focus should be on the ones who are working hard and preparing themselves for the season ahead.