Graham Potter is undergoing somewhat of a rough patch at Chelsea at the moment, with the club not winning in the Premier League since 16 October following Saturday evening's 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United.

There may be more bad news for Potter, with contract discussions surrounding Mason Mount reaching a stalemate. Talks between the club and the player have been ongoing since the summer and the Englishman is heading into the final 18 months of his deal.

The London side have looked at contingency plans in case Mount decides to move on or Chelsea wants to sell, with AS Roma star Lorenzo Pellegrini looked at as a viable alternative.

Potter can ditch Mount

The 23-year-old has been included in England’s World Cup squad and has started every league game under Potter, yet his last two league performances haven’t particularly caught the eye, averaging a rating of 6.7/10 as per SofaScore.

A move for Pellegrini would make sense, especially with his talents, although it could cost the club a big transfer fee, with the Roma player valued at €60m (£53m) by the CIES Football Observatory and Jose Mourinho will surely not even entertain a bid less than that.

The 26-year-old has been praised by Roma icon Francesco Totti previously, who said: “I am not surprised by the development of Pellegrini. As I always know Lorenzo is a phenomenal player. Now, everything depends on him to continue to be at this level.”

His form this season has shown exactly why Chelsea have them on their list as a potential Mount replacement, as he has registered 11 goal contributions - four goals and seven assists - in all competitions from an attacking midfield slot, which is better than Mount's tally of eight goal involvements.

The Italian also has more shots per game than Mount (2.55 to 1.96), has generated more goal-creating actions (11 to 7), and has a higher dribble success rate (44.9% to 43.2%), proving precisely why Chelsea could look to move on their youth graduate in favour of a flashy new signing.

The 47-year-old will now likely have to wait until after the World Cup to discuss Mount’s contract scenario in depth, but this may mean Pellegrini could attract attention from elsewhere.

It could well be an interesting January transfer market for the Stamford Bridge side as Potter aims to put his own stamp on the team.