CHELSEA stars fear team-mate Mason Mount’s on pitch discipline is suffering because of his contract stand-off.
The frustrated midfielder was booked for the second time in three games during his sub appearance in the dismal defeat at Tottenham on Sunday.
He is also suspended for next week’s crunch Champions League last 16 tie at home to Borussia Dortmund.
Dressing room insiders say they are worried that homegrown Mount is suffering as talks on a new deal with the club have stalled.
Negotiations are at a standstill and Mount has not played a full 90 minutes for Chelsea in the last eight matches.
The latest brush with the law was for showing dissent towards ref Stuart Attwell while his boyhood team crumbled against their fiercest opposition at White Hart Lane and were sunk 2-0.
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It is the fourth Premier League booking of a season which started with so much promise for Mount and Chelsea but is now disintegrating fast.
A dressing room source told SunSport: “You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to make the link between Mason’s frustration and his contract situation.
“If you are a player that was born and bred at Chelsea and then find yourself on the bench or always among the first players to be subbed it is going to get to you.
“Maybe he is not playing well. But who is in that team?”
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Mount, 23, is banned for next Tuesday’s return match against Germans Dortmund because has three bookings in the Champions League this season.
The last was for becoming embroiled in a shoving match having only come on with 19 minutes of the game to go.
Discussions about a new deal for Mount began before last summer but have dragged on and show no sign of a breakthrough.
It is a fresh headache for beleaguered Chelsea boss Graham Potter who is trying to manage an mammoth 33-man squad after making eight signings in January alone.
Form is in critical condition too with the team tenth in the Premier League. They have won only two of the last 15 games and scored one goal in the last six matches.
Mount has been with Chelsea since he was six years old and has been a key player.
He provided the assist for Kai Havertz to score the winning goal in the 2021 Champions League final and has won the Club World Cup and Super Cup. He now has less than 18 months remaining on his contract.
Club chairman Todd Boehly has made an offer of a new one but it was rejected.
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Mount is currently paid significantly less than players like striker Pierre-Emrerick Aubameyang, who only joined Chelsea last summer.
The source added: “At the moment, Mason looks like he wants to fight the world when really he just wants to win things. With Chelsea.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
