"It's never easy...." - Mason Mount on moving to Man Utd from rivals Chelsea as transfer confirmed

Manchester United midfielder Mason Mount has spoken for the first time after his transfer to the club was confirmed on Wednesday.

Mount has signed a long-term contract at Old Trafford, having been one of manager Erik ten Hag's key targets at the beginning of the summer.

He joins the club from Chelsea for a fee of around £55 million, with United having seen three bids rejected, and having pulled out of negotiations, before a deal was finally struck with their Premier League rivals.

On Tuesday, the 24-year-old England international posted a goodbye message to Chelsea on Instagram, where he thanked the club's fans for their support.

Now, Mount has reacted to his move to his new club.

Mount reacts to Man Utd transfer

Speaking to the club's official website, Mount began by referencing his spell of over 18 years at Chelsea, where he rose through the Cobham academy before establishing himself as a first team star from 2019.

He explained: "It's never easy leaving the club where you grew up, but Manchester United will provide an exciting new challenge for the next phase of my career.

"Having competed against them, I know just how strong a squad it is that I'm joining, and I can't wait to be part of this group's drive to win major trophies.

"Everyone can see that the club has made big steps forward under Erik ten Hag. Having met with the manager and discussed his plans, I couldn't be more excited for the seasons ahead, and am ready for the hard work expected here.

"I am hugely ambitious; I know how amazing it feels to win major trophies and what it takes to do it. I will be giving everything to experience that again at Manchester United."

Mount becomes United's first summer signing, and continues something of an exodus from Chelsea since the window opened.

The Blues have sold Kai Havertz to Arsenal, Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly to Al Ahli, Ruben Loftus-Cheek to AC Milan and Mateo Kovacic to Manchester City already during the window as they look to offset the high spending from last season.