Chelsea and Manchester United will continue talks this week with a view to resolving the future of midfielder Mason Mount, 90min understands.
United have already failed with three bids for the England international, the last of which was worth £55m, and they had threatened to walk away from the negotiating table if that offer was rejected.
However, United left that offer on the table for Chelsea, who were originally demanding £70m to sell Mount. The Blues suggested a counter-proposal worth £65m but 90min understands a fee of £60m would get the job done.
Further talks between the two clubs will be held imminently with a view to a compromise, with United still determined to lure Mount to Old Trafford this summer.
United have made it clear that they will not bow to Chelsea's demands and predicted a drop in Mount's asking price, which has decreased £10m since talks were opened, but whether they will increase their third offer is unclear.
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United are concerned about paying over the odds for a player who is in the final year of his contract and believe their third proposal of £55m is more than fair considering Mount can leave for free in 12 months.
Selling Mount before the end of the month would be significant for Chelsea, who have enjoyed an explosive start to the transfer window which has yielded well over £100m in sales already. The Blues are looking to balance the books ahead of the end of the current financial year after spending close to £600m on transfers over the past two windows.
Kai Havertz has joined Arsenal for £65m and Mateo Kovacic's move to Manchester City has also earned Chelsea £25m, which Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy have brought in around £30m with their moves to Saudi Arabia. Hakim Ziyech is expected to follow to the Middle East for under £10m, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek is close to joining AC Milan for £15m.
That stream of income has strengthened Chelsea's stance in negotiations with United but there is hope from both sides that a compromise will be reached to send Mount to Old Trafford.
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On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth, Graeme Bailey and Sean Walsh to discuss Tottenham's denial of receiving a bid from Bayern Munich for Harry Kane, Arsenal and Manchester City's tug of war for West Ham captain Declan Rice, Man Utd's ongoing pursuit of Mason Mount & more!
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This article was originally published on 90min as Mason Mount: Chelsea & Man Utd schedule further talks over transfer.