Juan Mata has found
opportunities limited at Chelsea this season, leaving him frustrated in
World Cup year. Photograph: Michael Mayhew/Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar
Chelsea are prepared to allow Juan Mata to leave for Manchester United
this week if the champions submit a club record bid of £40m for his
services, though the Spain international must also indicate to José
Mourinho that he has his heart set upon a move to Old Trafford.
United have yet to make a formal offer for the 25-year-old, who has found first-team opportunities relatively limited at Stamford Bridge this season under the Portuguese, but the London club anticipate that situation changing. A bid of that size for a player who cost £23.5m from Valencia in 2011 would be considered seriously, though Mourinho would still be given the final say as to whether Mata should be released.
There is an instinctive reluctance at Stamford Bridge to lose their player of the season from each of his two full campaigns at the club, sentiment expressed publicly by Mourinho over recent weeks when the manager has been asked about Mata's immediate future. Yet the Spaniard has completed 90 minutes only three times this season, starting 11 league games, and, with the World Cup to come in the summer, his frustration on the sidelines has been acknowledged sympathetically.
Other clubs have expressed tentative interest in the forward, most notably Paris Saint-Germain, with Atlético Madrid going as far as to seek to take him on loan for six months with an option to make the move permanent in the summer. Yet the prospective deal that would be lodged by United would eclipse all-comers with Mata, who would be cup-tied in Europe this term, favourable to the idea, intent as he is to perform regularly for a prestigious club. David Moyes's side languish 14 points from the Premier League summit and six from the Champions League places, but the club retains its mystique.
Whereas in the past the Chelsea hierarchy have had the final say on outgoing transfers regardless of the manager's opinion, the decision now will rest with Mourinho. The Portuguese could yet block any move, though his stance is likely to be shaped by Mata's attitude. The Spaniard, who is contracted until 2016, would not naturally agitate for a transfer but, if he makes clear his desire to move in talks with the management, the club are expected to yield. Mata is due back at Cobham, with the rest of the Chelsea players, on Wednesday after two days off.
A similar policy was adopted over Kevin De Bruyne this month, with Chelsea's instinct to loan the player to Atletico only for Wolfsburg to bid £18m. The Belgian met key members of the club's hierarchy to make clear his desire to join the Bundesliga club, but it was only once he had confirmed as much in face to face talks with Mourinho that his departure was finally sanctioned. While Mata's would constitute a considerably more significant sale, the same principle will apply.
United, who discovered on Tuesday that captain Nemanja Vidic will be banned for three games after losing his appeal against the red card he was shown in the recent 3-1 defeat at Chelsea, remain resolute that Wayne Rooney, a player Chelsea have coveted since last summer, will not move to Stamford Bridge as part of any prospective deal for Mata. Indeed, their interest in the player represents something of a change in policy given their priority had previously been a left-back and a more classic central midfielder rather than a creative player whose desire is to play as a No10, where Rooney, Shinji Kagawa and Adnan Junuzaj can also operate capably.
Yet their interest reflects an urgency to make a marquee signing – it would eclipse the £30.7m spent on Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 – and signal their intent still to secure Champions League qualification this term after recent toils. His arrival would lay down a marker as the club seeks to rebuild its squad with players of similar quality.
Chelsea had originally hoped to review Mata's situation in the summer, conscious as they are that they will struggle to recruit a player of comparable calibre in the remainder of this window and with challenges ahead on three fronts. Indeed, Juan Mata Sr, who acts as the player's agent, had hoped to broker a deal to Barcelona at the end of the campaign, only for United's interest to emerge and prove enticing.
Source:http://www.theguardian.com
United have yet to make a formal offer for the 25-year-old, who has found first-team opportunities relatively limited at Stamford Bridge this season under the Portuguese, but the London club anticipate that situation changing. A bid of that size for a player who cost £23.5m from Valencia in 2011 would be considered seriously, though Mourinho would still be given the final say as to whether Mata should be released.
There is an instinctive reluctance at Stamford Bridge to lose their player of the season from each of his two full campaigns at the club, sentiment expressed publicly by Mourinho over recent weeks when the manager has been asked about Mata's immediate future. Yet the Spaniard has completed 90 minutes only three times this season, starting 11 league games, and, with the World Cup to come in the summer, his frustration on the sidelines has been acknowledged sympathetically.
Other clubs have expressed tentative interest in the forward, most notably Paris Saint-Germain, with Atlético Madrid going as far as to seek to take him on loan for six months with an option to make the move permanent in the summer. Yet the prospective deal that would be lodged by United would eclipse all-comers with Mata, who would be cup-tied in Europe this term, favourable to the idea, intent as he is to perform regularly for a prestigious club. David Moyes's side languish 14 points from the Premier League summit and six from the Champions League places, but the club retains its mystique.
Whereas in the past the Chelsea hierarchy have had the final say on outgoing transfers regardless of the manager's opinion, the decision now will rest with Mourinho. The Portuguese could yet block any move, though his stance is likely to be shaped by Mata's attitude. The Spaniard, who is contracted until 2016, would not naturally agitate for a transfer but, if he makes clear his desire to move in talks with the management, the club are expected to yield. Mata is due back at Cobham, with the rest of the Chelsea players, on Wednesday after two days off.
A similar policy was adopted over Kevin De Bruyne this month, with Chelsea's instinct to loan the player to Atletico only for Wolfsburg to bid £18m. The Belgian met key members of the club's hierarchy to make clear his desire to join the Bundesliga club, but it was only once he had confirmed as much in face to face talks with Mourinho that his departure was finally sanctioned. While Mata's would constitute a considerably more significant sale, the same principle will apply.
United, who discovered on Tuesday that captain Nemanja Vidic will be banned for three games after losing his appeal against the red card he was shown in the recent 3-1 defeat at Chelsea, remain resolute that Wayne Rooney, a player Chelsea have coveted since last summer, will not move to Stamford Bridge as part of any prospective deal for Mata. Indeed, their interest in the player represents something of a change in policy given their priority had previously been a left-back and a more classic central midfielder rather than a creative player whose desire is to play as a No10, where Rooney, Shinji Kagawa and Adnan Junuzaj can also operate capably.
Yet their interest reflects an urgency to make a marquee signing – it would eclipse the £30.7m spent on Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 – and signal their intent still to secure Champions League qualification this term after recent toils. His arrival would lay down a marker as the club seeks to rebuild its squad with players of similar quality.
Chelsea had originally hoped to review Mata's situation in the summer, conscious as they are that they will struggle to recruit a player of comparable calibre in the remainder of this window and with challenges ahead on three fronts. Indeed, Juan Mata Sr, who acts as the player's agent, had hoped to broker a deal to Barcelona at the end of the campaign, only for United's interest to emerge and prove enticing.
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