Chelsea facing £16.2m-a-year wage bill hike amid Mason Mount claim – pundit
Mason Mount and Reece James could command triple-your-money deals as Chelsea look to renew their contracts this summer, according to Kevin Campbell.
The former Arsenal striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider,
According to i News (7 July), Chelsea are keen to extend the contracts of Mount. 23, and James, 22, who both earn around £80,000-a-week at present – and will open talks imminently.
Speaking to The Athletic (13 July), Mount welcomed the idea of contract talks, insisting he is “very happy” at Stamford Bridge despite interest from Europe’s top clubs.
His deal runs until 2024, while James is under contract until June 2025.
Campbell suggested the pair could demand wages of up to £240,000 a week – which would increase the wage bill at Chelsea by £16.2million a year.
He told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury: “They’ve got away cheap until now, haven’t they?
“They have utilised their youth system and given them the opportunity – but they’ve now outplayed those contracts.
“They’re in for a bumper deal – it’ll be two or three times that number [£80,000-a-week].
“That’s for sure. These guys are fully-fledged England internationals playing week-in, week-out and they need to be paid accordingly.”
James notched five goals and nine assists across just 26 league games in the 2021-22 season and has recently gazumped Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kyle Walker in the England pecking order.
Meanwhile, Mount finished last term as Chelsea’s top goalscorer across all competitions – notching 13 goals and 16 assists in 53 games.
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