wants to capitalise on ’s struggle to agree a fee with for Mason Mount and will launch a rival move, according to reports.
The Red Devils had a third and final offer for the 24-year-old rejected on Friday night, with their offer of £50million plus £5m in add-ons falling short of Chelsea’s £65m asking price.
While that proposal has been left on the table, United have effectively walked away from discussions and are now .
United’s hierarchy are unhappy with how negotiations with Chelsea have unfolded and feel their take-it-or-leave-it bid was more than fair, and fear they are being charged a ‘Manchester United tax’.
By way of comparison, Mateo Kovacic – who also only has one year left on his contract – will join treble winners City in a £30m deal imminently, less than half what Chelsea want for Mount.
While Chelsea’s price tag for the England international is higher due to his homegrown status and younger age, United feel their valuation is still too extreme.
That has presented an opening for other clubs and, according to , Bayern Munich are already positioning themselves at the front of queue to hijack the deal.
Tuchel remains a massive fan of Mount and the feeling is reciprocated, with the midfielder playing his best football at Stamford Bridge under the German coach, though he might take some convincing to move to Germany.
Bayern have also explored deals for Kovacic – though he has picked a move to City instead – and contemplated joining the battle to sign West Ham skipper Declan Rice.
Tuchel phoned up Rice and tried to convince him to move to Bavaria, though the midfielder is happy and settled in London and favours a move to Arsenal while Bayern couldn’t stump up the £100m asking price anyway.
Chelsea, by contrast, might be more willing to negotiate with Bayern if it means avoiding selling Mount to a Premier League rival and they could accept a fee lower than the £65m they have asked for from United.
The west London club are keen to try and secure a deal for Mount this summer given his precarious contract situation, with the midfielder free to negotiate a pre-contract with foreign clubs from January.
Chelsea are expected to have a busy few days and weeks in terms of outgoings, with three players – Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly and Hakim Ziyech – in line to move to Saudi Arabia while Kai Havertz is set to join Arsenal in a £65m deal.
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