The Tuesday papers in the UK are all covering the story that Manchester United are willing to smash their transfer record to sign midfielder Juan Mata from Chelsea.
Chelsea have an unhappy player in Mata, while David Moyes and Manchester United are desperate to sign a big name. So paying over the odds for the Spanish playmaker is something that United are reportedly willing to do.
The deal would be a great piece of business for Mourinho and Chelsea. I am sure they would have preferred to sell Mata overseas, but if they can get £40m for Mata, that gives them a very positive figure for this transfer window, something that cannot be overlooked with Financial Fair Play.
There is no doubt that Mata is a terrific player, he has been Chelsea’s player of the year for the last two seasons. And as the chart below shows, Mata has created as many changes this season as United’s midfield have combined!
The concern I have with Mata is that he is an attacking midfielder, and his best position is in the No. 10 role, which is where Rooney and Kagawa player. So where would Mata fit into the United line-up? I really cannot see him playing alongside Carrick in a traditional midfield role as he is not that good defensively. And I cannot see him replacing Rooney in the line-up. So where does Mata play?