AHEAD OF THE GAME: Mason Mount’s hard-ball approach to a new Chelsea deal has cost him a £10M payday

Mason Mount has missed out on around £10m in lost earnings as a result of his decision to play hardball with Chelsea for a new deal.

The England midfielder remains deadlocked with the club over the terms of a new contract and could be sold when he enters the last 12 months of his deal at the end of the season, with Manchester United the latest club to join. Liverpool and Newcastle in the follow-up. the situation up close.

Chelsea’s latest offer of around £170,000 a week is very similar to the £100,000 weekly pay rise offered by the Roman Abramovich regime two years ago.

Had Mount signed that deal, he would have been in a position to negotiate a renewal on better terms this summer.

Wherever he ends up, the 24-year-old is unlikely to recapture the gains he has lost in the past two years.

VOTING FOR THE EXTENDED PFA AWARDS

Voting for the PFA Player of the Year award will be based on performances throughout the campaign for the first time this season, and the players’ union has opted to keep the polls open until the end of July.

The PFA has been widely criticized in the past for stopping voting in early April before the season had reached its climax, but the ballot will remain open for much of the summer of this year as the awards ceremony it was delayed until August 29.

Mo Salah and Sam Kerr both won top prizes last season, with the later date allowing the Chelsea striker to attend after playing at the Women’s World Cup in Australia.

LIVERPOOL PAR PILE IN PADEL

Jordan Henderson and James Milner are investing in a Cheshire leisure club dedicated to padel, the fast-growing racket sport best described as a hybrid of tennis and squash.

Liverpool midfielders were introduced to padel tennis by Jurgen Klopp at a training camp in Tenerife, and the coach was so taken with the sport that he insisted that a court be installed at the club’s training ground.

Padel matches are now a regular feature of the Liverpool squad, which has led Henderson and Milner to invest in Handforth’s Padel Club, along with former Everton players Joleon Lescott and Gareth Barry.

THE LEAGUE SHUTS DOWN FROM TONEY ROW

The Premier League is doing its best to stay out of the Ivan Toney betting controversy, which has left the Brentford striker facing a lengthy ban after admitting he breached FA rules.

Despite his impending absence from the competition, the wi-fi password for guests at Premier League headquarters in London is IvanToney17, an irony that has been noted by visitors from other clubs.

SWEDES CONFIDENT IN EFL GRAB

Swedish broadcaster Viaplay has started to approach leading soccer pundits in a sign of increased confidence that they will get some of the live rights to show EFL matches from the 2024-25 season.

The EFL offered more than 20 packages to broadcasters last month in its bid to pressure existing rights holders Sky Sports, hoping to double the value of the contract to more than £200m a year.

Viaplay is understood to have told a number of pundits that they hope to significantly increase their football content, which is currently limited to the Scottish Cup and La Liga in the UK, as well as the Premier League in Scandinavia and Poland.

Sky Sports, BT Sport and DAZN also plan to bid for the rights to the EFL, which could see all matches in all three divisions broadcast live for the first time.

TRIBUTE TO PELE IN THE SHOCK IN BRAZIL

The FA is planning a tribute to Pelé when England’s Lionesses play Brazil at Wembley next month in the Finalissima, the match between the European and South American champions.

The match, on April 6, sold out within days of ticket release in January and will be preceded by a minute of applause and several video montages celebrating the life of Pele, the Brazil legend who died at 82. years in December.