Manchester United have pulled off the marquee signing of this season’s winter transfer window, with the purchase of stellar attacking midfielder Juan Mata from rivals Chelsea for a club-record £37 million fee. Mata becomes the second midfielder sold by The Blues in this window, after Kevin De Bruyne also left, for Bundesliga side Wolfsburg. However, few could have predicted this deal when the window opened, and indeed it could be one to boost hopes in the United camp.
Much of the January transfer talk revolving around Manchester United’s activities has centred on world-class players. İlkay Güngoğan is one who was particularly wanted by the United faithful, in order to solve their problem in central midfield, along with a few other names such as Yohan Cabaye. However, few seemed realistic until some media outlets revealed that David Moyes was interested in signing the Spanish midfielder from the London club.
Mata has garnered a reputation as one of the finest players in the Premier League playing for Chelsea since joining them in the summer of 2011 from Valencia. His set-pieces and superb style of passing have helped Chelsea hugely in their fight for silverware that has seen them win a Champions League and a Europa League title. The defensive side of his play could leave a little to be desired, but he hasn’t often been called upon defensively in his two-and-a-half seasons at Stamford Bridge.
Since signing for The Pensioners late on in the summer of 2011, Mata has been a regular in the Chelsea side, playing 135 games in all competitions since he joined. In that time he has managed to net 33 goals, as well as setting up another 58 for his team-mates. He was also voted Chelsea’s player of the year in both of his first two seasons with the club.
However, since José Mourinho re-joined Chelsea as manager after leaving Real Madrid at the end of last season, Mata has lost his place in the Chelsea side, with Mourinho seemingly not favouring him. Understandably this has left the Spaniard frustrated after being left on the bench for several months consistently. It was expected he would try and seek a move away from The Bridge in either the winter transfer window, or next summer. Now, he has got his wish.
With this signing, David Moyes is sure to be thinking more about next season and the future, rather than this year. The Red Devils are 7th in the Premier League as it stands, and are also out of The FA Cup (following a shock home defeat to Swansea City in the Third Round) and The Capital One Cup (they lost on penalties to Sunderland at Old Trafford, after drawing 3-3 on aggregate). The Manchester side are still in the Champions League though, and are due to face Olympiakos in the first knock-out round. They are also bidding to secure a Champions League spot for next season.
This move is sure to give everyone inside Manchester United a boost, given the calibre of player that Juan Mata is. However, it could signal the end of Shinji Kagawa’s career at Old Trafford. The Japanese international hasn’t been Moyes’ favoured choice this season, and is likely to be even further down the pecking order with Mata now in the equation too. This will be disheartening for some United fans, but in Juan Mata they have got a more than adequate replacement.
This signing is now the record fee paid for a player by The Red Devils; that record was previously held by Dimitar Berbatov when he signed from Tottenham for £30.5 million in 2008. Some may question whether that the hefty price is deserved, but most will think it is. Given Mata is now settled well into English football, and has been so superb down in London, it could prove to be a bargain with the Spanish international perhaps soon to become a fan favourite at Old Trafford.