Bayern Munich are about to test Erik ten Hag's Manchester United transfer admission with Mason Mount interest

As seems customary with the Manchester United of recent years, their pursuit of Mason Mount was always going to hit a few bumps in the road.

Negotiating for a player with one year left on his contract and edging to leave his current club should in theory be a simple task. But when that club is Todd Boehly's newly-brash Chelsea, and when they desperately need to make every pound count in the fallout of a near-£600million spend, talks stop being so straightforward.

United have tabled three formal bids for Mount in recent weeks, with the most recent worth in the region of £55million, but are growing increasingly frustrated both at Chelsea's refusal to budge on their own valuation - around £65million - and their strategy of leaking bids to the media.

It will come as yet more frustration then to see Bayern Munich put their hat in the ring, with the Guardian reporting on Saturday evening that they plan to 'hijack' the Mount deal. Thomas Tuchel has been in charge of the German side since March and is the main driver behind their interest, having worked with the 24-year-old at Stamford Bridge.

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Chelsea would inevitably be willing to offload Mount overseas for a cheaper price, safe in the knowledge that they aren't strengthening a direct Premier League rival - albeit one the finished nine places and 31 points ahead of them this season. And Bayern under Tuchel would present an enticing option.

Should the Bundesliga side turn their reported interest into a formal offer, then it would be a major test of how much United have progressed under Erik ten Hag this past year. With no Champions League football, no trophy for six years and little in terms of a tangible plan,