Would Man United sell to their bitter rivals…?
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With the news that Valencia are hoping to bring Juan Mata back to Spain from Manchester United – we’ve listed five other clubs (along with the Spanish) who could do far worse than tempting the 26-year-old to join.
6) Valencia
Mata would be a truly sensational signing for Valencia. They sold him to Chelsea in 2011, and if they are to have any chance of challenging Real Madrid and Barcelona (like Atletico Madrid are now managing to do), they need to be consistently bringing in players of Mata’s pedigree. Will the fact that Valencia are Mata’s boyhood club tempt him to leave?
5) Juventus
Juve have brilliant central midfielders in Paul Pogba, Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal, but few genuine no.10 playmakers. Signing Mata would enable the Old Lady to use him behind Carlos Tevez, with Pogba and Vidal bombing on from deep. Frightening!
4) AS Roma
The Italian side seem to be the only genuine competitors for Juventus’s Serie A crown, and Mata would inject even more creativity and guile to an already impressive side. Miralem Pjanic currently plays in the no.10 role, but the Bosnian is also capable of playing wide, enabling Mata to feed the likes of Gervinho and Juan Iturbe in the final third.
3) Atletico Madrid
Rumours are rife that Atletico could swap Miranda for Juan Mata. This could be a good deal for both sides, with United desperate for central defensive enforcements, and Atletico searching for more elite attackers to feed new striker Mario Mandzukic.
2) PSG
Mata would be an upgrade on Yohan Cabaye and Javier Pastore, and enable PSG to play a 4-2-3-1 instead of the usual 4-3-3. Mata scores goals too, and would take some of that burden off Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
1) Liverpool
It’s very rare that players move between Man United and Liverpool, so this one would be a huge long shot – but Mata could provide the Reds with some of the magic missing in the final third since Luis Suarez’s departure. Mata’s passing and ability to thread intricate through-balls would suit Daniel Sturridge perfectly, and enable Raheem Sterling, Coutinho, Adam Lallana or Lazar Markovic to provide options either side of him in a 4-2-3-1 formation. The difficulty in convincing United to sell would mean Mata’s far more likely to move abroad.
