Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been dealt renewed hope in their bid to sign Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount this summer, according to reports.
What's the latest on Mason Mount to Liverpool?
That's according to Sky Sports Germany's Florian Plettenberg, who has stated that while favourites Manchester United are "pushing" to sign the England international for €45-€50m (£39m-£43m), Liverpool are very much still in the race.
Ultimately, it is believed to be the player's decision, and with Liverpool waving goodbye to midfield trio James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain this summer, Mount might be the perfect star to add energy and dynamism back into the centre.
Liverpool have maintained an interest in the 25-year-old across the latter stages of the campaign and, while maybe dissuaded by Chelsea's initial £70m valuation, the recent depreciation makes a move far more plausible for Klopp and co.
How good is Mason Mount?
Unequivocally, Mount has not been at the races this season, but football is a fickle sport and those involved are quick to condemn the stragglers, leaving the past success in absent memory.
This is not entirely unfair, and with the Blues finishing 12th in the Premier League this year after an abject and discordant campaign, the players should rightfully be lambasted after reaching the finals of both domestic cup competitions the previous term and undergoing a £600m transfer transmutation across the past two windows.
However, the "special" – as hailed by Alan Shearer – Mount is of a calibre that must not be forgotten and there is every chance and more he can return to past heights with a move to Merseyside, providing a prominent role as Klopp looks to reconstruct his own team after a lacklustre season.
As per FBref, the £80k-per-week ace ranks among the top 18% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for rate of assists, the top 14% for shot-creating actions and the top 15% for progressive carries per 90, having before been praised as a "generational" talent by journalist Benjamin Lynch.
Given his similarities to the playing style of Liverpool's Harvey Elliott, a move may not bode well for the 20-year-old prospect as he looks to continue his own ascent to the forefront of the Premier League talent poolll.
Indeed, in comparison the one-time Fulham youngster ranks among the top 6% of positional peers for shot-creating actions, the top 11% for progressive passes and the top 9% for progressive carries per 90, coincidentally likened to Mount by FBref's 'similar players' tab.
While Elliott will still expect to be provided opportunities to impress regardless of who the Reds bring in this summer, he has only started one of his team's last 11 matches of the campaign, and with that coinciding with Liverpool's late-season purple patch, it might just be that Klopp has deemed the 5 foot 6 dynamo is not quite ready for a regular starting berth with a renaissance anticipated.
And in Mount, Klopp could unleash a "superstar" – as lauded by Adi Joseph – one who could utilise his progressive prowess and ball-playing capabilities to return some of the robustness to Anfield, once a staple of the side's fluid system but lacking after a detrimental seasonal slump.
