'Chelsea need to remember what a great player he is': Joe Cole urges his old club to tie Mason Mount down to a new contract

Speaking exclusively to 90min, Joe Cole said: "Mason Mount is probably sitting there thinking: 'I have performed for this club for three or four years now, I won the Champions League, I've been pushed forward in every campaign...'.

"He's a leader, he sacrifices himself for the team. He wants to stay at Chelsea, I'm sure he does. I don't for the life of me understand, and I don't know the dealings - they're probably far apart on where they're valuing each other. He probably thinks: 'Where do I sit?'.

"He's out the team now, which is a dangerous position to be in for Mason and for Chelsea. Football is very fickle, we can forget what a good player Mason Mount is. Even more so in this generation, players go away for three or four weeks and they're forgotten. I think Chelsea need to remember what a great player he is. He will come good.

"[A contract renewal] would be the top of my list. There must be some middle ground to solve it."

Mount has entered the final 18 months of his current deal and has thus far rebuffed offers from the club to extend.