Mason Mount has revealed the mood in the Chelsea dressing room after Raheem Sterling’s switch from Manchester City was confirmed earlier this month, which involved a talk with his England teammate ahead of the transfer.
The 27-year-old joined Chelsea earlier this month in a deal worth up to £50 million, signing a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge as he enters the prime years of his football career.
Sterling played his first, unofficial, match for Chelsea in midweek, coming on at half-time during their penalty shootout defeat to Charlotte FC in North Carolina.
But he has settled into his new surroundings quickly and well, and he joins several players at the club who he has played with before, including Mount, Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ben Chilwell for England.
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Mount had a chat with Sterling prior to him signing for Chelsea, but insisted nothing was decided over his future at that point.
He told the Daily Mirror: “I spoke to him a little bit when we were away on international duty. He didn’t have a clue what was going on. He just said there was interest there and I was obviously saying: ‘We’d love to have you at the club’.
“I know what he is like as a person and a player. I’ve played with him for the last couple of years with England and he’s a top, top guy with a lot left to go and a lot more winning to do so it's brilliant to have him.”
Sterling left Man City with a year left, making it easier for Chelsea to make a move, as Pep Guardiola’s side didn’t want to risk losing the winger for free next summer.
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Mount isn’t phased by City allowing him to leave in his expected best years, adding: “I don’t really think about all that kind of stuff. We are just adding another world-class, top player to our team.
“He has been brilliant for them for however many years and he has won so much so for us to get him, we are lucky.
“He is going to do everything he can to be at the top of his level to win stuff with us.
“And we are a team with a lot of ambition and a lot of will to win. So he brings that too.”
Sterling didn’t want to share many details of the conversation he had with Thomas Tuchel which convinced him to sign for the 48-year-old’s side.
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“I don’t want to go into too much detail on the conversation I had with the manager. It wasn’t the longest conversation in the world,” said Sterling.
"You can see how genuine he was, how much he wanted me here. That put the nail in it for me.
"I was certain this is the place I want to be."
Topics: Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling, Chelsea, Football
Matthew Debono