Chelsea should prioritise new contracts for James and Mount

Ross Mooring, Chelsea Fancast, external

Under new ownership and with the busiest expected summer in transfer terms since 2003, if not ever, it's easy to forget that Chelsea have much needed business to attend to with the existing squad. It may be more key than splashing the cash on new arrivals.

At the top of the list of priorities should be new contracts for both Mason Mount and Reece James. In this modern transfer age, the longer a player goes without signing a contract the more they can leverage the situation to their advantage and ultimately heavily cash in on new deals elsewhere when a team will be able to avoid paying a transfer fee.

Antonio Rudiger has done so at Real Madrid while Andreas Christensen has also signed a lucrative deal in Spain.

More so than this, from a squad harmony perspective, Mount and James will rightly feel they should be paid at a level up there with the highest earners at the club.

Raheem Sterling's new contract will apparently pay the England forward £300,000 per week, further raising the internal bar. Other key players probably due new deals include N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic, while Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell and a few others can probably make a case too.

Then you also have the problem of what is a very bloated training squad that has gone on tour to the United States which mostly achieves taking away minutes from definite first team players as well as youngsters including Harvey Vale, who can only gain from increased involvement.

Add up the number of senior players registered to the club and Chelsea are at least ten players over the 25 man limit, and that's even before new signings are made.

Negotiating all these deals, both in and out, as well as new contracts takes time - which is fast disappearing with the start of the new season less than a month away.

Which players should Chelsea prioritise new deals for? Have your say here