Manchester United have been told £65million could buy Mason Mount after having a £50m bid rejected on Wednesday.
United offered £45m plus £5m in bonuses and, as expected, Chelsea rejected that offer but countered with a request for £60m plus £5m in bonuses.
United are still unsure of what their optimum bid can be as they wait for the club takeover while also wanting a top striker and a goalkeeper such as Inter Milan’s Andre Onana.
United have also retained interest in Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot after a bid for the France international faltered in January.
However, reports suggest Juventus are still trying to persuade Rabiot to put pen to paper on a new deal and remain at the club, which they feel confident of achieving given the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham are no longer interested in the player.
United's initial £40m offer for Mount, whose contract at Chelsea is set to expire in the summer of 2024, was quickly rejected earlier this month.
This summer feels like the end of an era for Mount at Chelsea, who joined the club's academy in 2015 before working his way through the ranks and into the first team.
He's scored 33 goals and 37 assists in 195 appearances across all competitions for the club, ahead of his potential departure.
During his time there, he's won the Champions League in 2021, scoring twice against Porto and Real Madrid in the quarter-finals and notably teeing up Kai Havertz for the winner against Manchester City in the final.
However, this season has been hampered by injuries, with Mount firstly suffering an ankle injury in February, before undergoing surgery in April to over an abdominal problem.
Back in February, Mail Sport reported that Chelsea had tried to offer Mount a new deal but talks between the parties had broken down.
Meanwhile, Harry Kane is still hoping that Manchester United will resurrect their bid to sign him this summer if Tottenham chief Daniel Levy lowers his £100m demand.
The England captain played at Old Trafford on Monday night and scored twice in a resounding 7-0 Euro 2024 qualifying win over North Macedonia. But the chances of it becoming Kane's permanent home hinge on the notoriously hard-headed Levy softening his stance.
United have made it clear that they will not do business at £100m for a player who turns 30 next month and only has one year left on his contract at Spurs. The club have ended their interest in Kane for now and moved on to more attainable targets like Atalanta's Rasmus Hojlund.
A price closer to £80m could tempt United back to the negotiating table, however, with manager Erik ten Hag preferring to sign a striker with a proven track record in the Premier League.