Since moving to Manchester United last January, Juan Mata has made 18 appearances and has scored 7 goals. That’s actually a pretty good return for a central midfielder (he only scored 33 goals in 135 Chelsea appearances, after all), but most pundits agree that the Spaniard hasn’t been at his best since moving to Old Trafford.
His passing isn’t quite as slick as it was at Chelsea and he, like the rest of this Manchester United side, seem to struggle to break down well-disciplined Premier League defenses.
He was supposed to be the man who would get Manchester United back on track, instead he’s just accelerated the decline.
Would Louis Van Gaal really have spent so big on Angel Di Maria (£59.7m!) if Juan Mata had made a bigger impact at Old Trafford? If he had met expectations (and not folded under pressure) a big signing shouldn’t have been necessary.
As it is, Juan Mata cost The Red Devils £37m. Now, The Daily Mail are reporting that they’re willing to sell him for as little as £20m. That’s right – after just 18 appearances in a Manchester United shirt, the Manchester United hierachy are willing to take a £17m hit on Juan Mata. Have you ever heard anything quite so bizarre?
The Mail also list a number of suitors, including Atletico Madrid, Roma and Juventus. Doesn’t it say something about the player in question that so many top clubs are still interested in him?
More than anything, Juan Mata needs the confidence of his manager and the confidence of the Manchester United fans.
When Jose Mourinho turned up at Chelsea, he lost this. All the complaints about his lack of defensive prowess (and the question marks over his work rate) seemed to knock the wind out of his sails. He’s never quite recovered.
Juan Mata reminds me a little of Mesut Ozil. These are two players who aren’t really designed to track back. They’re hard-working in their own way, but they prefer to take up smart positions, make plenty of runs and make themselves available to their team-mates.
In fact, Juan Mata is the kind of player that Manchester United should be building their team around. Unfortunately, the arrival of Angel Di Maria will probably prevent this.
Still, if he’s given more opportunities to prove himself and the backing of the fans, he can turn things around. The arrival of players like Radamel Falcao and Angel Di Maria should help to improve his productivity – he’ll be providing service into some truly World Class footballers.
With all this in mind, it would surprise me if Juan Mata hasn’t rescued his reputation before the end of the season. He’s too good to remain in the doldrums for too long.
What’s your take? What does the future hold for Juan Mata?
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That stupid question to ask,why should be sold for this tack price.Is he the kind the of player to sold.i expect man u to bench ronney for mata in the central midfield row.i dont have to commen alot just a rumour u false media are hesistating.hahah
It’s ridiculous to think we’d take a massive loss on Mata based on his performances so far.
He was played out of position for many of those 18 games,yet in a team totally devoid of confidence and frankly playing rubbish football,he’s managed 7 goals and a decent number of assists.
I’m not interested in his defensive workrate,Mata is an attacking facilitator and a fine one at that.In a side playing fast,flowing,attacking football Mata will be a revelation,it’s the rest of the side that needs to improve to get the best out of him.
Last season he suffered being stuck out on the wing,this season Rooney constantly dropping deep into the area he likes to operate in has been an issue.The tactics need to be sorted to work with Mata,not against and then his true value won’t be questioned.
All those sniffing around are wasting dia God damn time,we re nt gonna sell mata for any reason let alone shipping him for such a damn shameful disgusting cut price.we love mata and still hold him in high esteem,the dampening form of d club is not down to mata,the club as a whole has a confidence problem which i believe wil be soon be over.united.united wil be back soon and that starts from QPR…optimism.
Mata is NOT FOR SELL. thank you
He must be used in CMF position with Herrera