Manchester United have splashed the cash and broken their record transfer fee to sign Juan Mata from Premier League rivals Chelsea for £37 million.
Manchester United have splashed the cash and broken their record transfer fee to sign Juan Mata from Premier League rivals Chelsea for £37 million. The Spanish international is expected to make his debut for the Red Devils against Cardiff in mid-week.
Manager David Moyes will now be hoping that the Spaniard can have a similar impact in Manchester to Mesut Ozil, whose addition to a formerly stagnant Arsenal side seems to have brought a new life of creativity that has seen them occupy the top-spot this season. The return of Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie along with Mata will be a welcome sight to United fans.
The addition of Mata will definitely add a creative spark to the Manchester outfit who, this season, seem to have been limping through their fixtures following the departure of legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson. The signing will turn some of the attention from Moyes who has been receiving a lot of stick during his transitional period.
Why did he move?
One of the main reasons behind Mata decision to leave the Blues was that, under Mourinho he’d been considered way down the pecking order behind Hazard, Willian, and Oscar, whilst Mourinho was also on the look-out for more creative forwards further limiting Mata’s involvement in first team action.
In an open letter to fans Mata said: “I believe this is the best choice in order to carry on with my football career and to keep enjoying this sport. Before last summer, my intention was to stay here for a long time; as long as the club wanted me to, and to keep winning trophies for Chelsea FC.”
The decision to leave would have no doubt been incentivised by the fact that this is a World Cup year and Mata would have been looking at other compatriots and seeing that across in Manchester, City midfielders Jesus Navas and David Silva will no doubt be vying for a similar spot in the Spain team to Mata. Also competing against Mata in England is Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla, another player who has seemingly benefited from the addition of Mesut Ozil.
Welcome to my brother @juanmata10 just one thing….Not the best clothes!!
Back in Spain there’s also competition for the starting spots, Real Madrid this summer purchased Isco who will be hoping that, at the age of 21, he can make the leap up into the Spain first team for the 2014 World Cup. Also hoping to dislodge the Barca stronghold of the Spanish midfield is Bayern’s Thiago Alcantara who followed Pep Guardiola to the Allianz Arena.
There’s a number of choices
