There are a host of players at the Old Trafford currently, whose contract are set to expire at the end of this season and among them, Spanish ace Juan Mata is one who is making headlines. The Spanish playmaker has had a decent influence at Manchester United since joining from Chelsea and has become a pivotal part of Jose Mourinho’s plans, much to the surprise of many people.
Mourinho had a fall out with the Spanish midfielder during his tenure at Chelsea and decided to cut him off from his plans. But the decision to let him leave came back to haunt Mourinho after the Portuguese was appointed by the Red Devils to manage the club.
Everybody had thought Mourinho’s first job at the club would be to find a suitor for Mata who was at loggerheads with him at the Stamford Bridge but much to the delight of the United supporters, the former Chelsea coach decided to include Mata in his plans and the Spaniard went on to justify his inclusion by putting in some top-notch performance in just over a year of Mourinho’s tenure.
Mata will be available to sign a pre-contract with any club in January and Mourinho doesn’t want this type of a situation and has asked the club authority to prepare a new deal for the player.
Alongside him, Ander Herrera also is reportedly in the line for a new contract. The Spaniard’s performance was the main reason behind United’s resurgence last season and he was subsequently rewarded, as he got the Matt Busby player of the year.
Mourinho usually has a very clear vision on whom he wants and whom he doesn’t. The Portuguese is a bit ruthless with his player-handling and we have seen it before, as he has frozen out Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial in the past, only to see them back in the groove.
Also, Mourinho knows losing Mata means he would be losing a few million given the player’s current value in this inflated market. Youngsters like Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele are fetching big prices so if we compare the situation, Mourinho would not want the playmaker to leave on a free transfer.
Mata still holds the crisp quality which gives a definite edge to United. The Red Devils have pace and power in Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku but the need of a chief playmaker is evident and Mata ticks all the boxes to fill in this department.
So do you think United are right in giving him a new deal?
