Patrick Rees
Manchester United supporters will be hoping to see a new dawn at the Theatre of Dreams as Jose Mourinho has took the reins of the Old Trafford side into his hands. The players are out serving their respective countries, and therefore, it is now the time to scout the transfer targets.
Jose Mourinho completed his first signing of the summer as the club confirmed the arrival of Eric Bailly from Villarreal, and now it’s the time to look for more.
It is safe to say that Jose Mourinho will be facing one of his toughest tasks in his career and to achieve success in it, he will have to assess the entire situation of the squad. It is a bitter reality that the fans might see the departure of many players from the current squad, but to be clear, it is necessary. Not aiming at a particular player, but some of them needs to be offloaded in order to make a room for new arrivals.
Now, almost every one of us are aware how the relationship between Jose Mourinho and Juan Mata ended at Stamford Bridge, and eventually, he was sold to Manchester United in 2014. Soon after the arrival of Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford, questions have been raised about the future of Juan Mata. Reports suggest that he will be offloaded, but the supporters think otherwise. According to the recent reports, Everton have become a shocking contender to sign Juan Mata. Mata to Everton is surely not the kind of deal United supporters would love to see, but everyone knows how Jose handles his transfer speculations.
There is no doubt that Juan is a precious possession of Manchester United. The Spaniard has spent three seasons with Manchester United and has been instrumental in almost every single game. Due to his versatility, he has been used at a number of positions and the 28-year-old adopted the situation very well.
Even after the team’s poor show, Mata remains one of the consistent performers. Mata made 54 appearances for the side last season in all competition and scored 10 goals. Yes, obviously 10 goals in 54 appearances is not an impressive count, but that number was somehow affected due to the overall performance of the squad.
We think that Juan is the most intelligent figure in the current Manchester United squad, and letting him go might cost the team a lot. Mata is a typical Spanish player, whose game is totally based on passing and building up the game. Yes, he is not that effective while defending, but his vision is his primary weapon and that could be used to net many goals next season.
Mata is naturally an attacking midfielder, but for the sake of the team, he changed his position to the wings and believe it or not, this affected his performance. He was wasted on the flanks and was unable to do anything concrete. He could be utilized more when deployed in the centre, and imagine want kind of damage he would do if Manchester United signs Ibrahimovic. The big Swede as a striker, Mata as an attacking midfielder and Rooney alongside these two.
As stated earlier, Juan is a gem and no matter who comes calling, Manchester United should not sell the Spaniard at any cost.
