Juan Mata

[sutro 1,026]

  On 31/12/2013 at 15:35, Korea said:

You think so... He already has 9 as the second fiddle to Cristiano and doesnt even start/injured for most of this season...

In league play,

Cristiano 18 goals 123 shots....

Bale 7 goals 31 shots...

As someone mentioned before, Cristiano shoots a hell of a lot of shots. If Bale was allowed to shoot 123 shots and have pk/fk responsibility, you dont think he would of gotten close to that number?

Lets take a look at our very own eden hazard then

8 goals 37 shots in a in my opinion tougher league than spain

But that doesnt mean he is as good as cr7

[Korea 734]

  On 31/12/2013 at 15:46, sutro said:

Lets take a look at our very own eden hazard then

8 goals 37 shots in a in my opinion a tougher league than spain

But that doesnt mean he is as good as cr7

hazard not a goalscorer like those 2 are...

Hazard isnt in the mold of Bale/Cristiano..

Bale/Cristiano both have incredible rocket shots, are 6'1 and have incredible top speed...

hazard too me is already a better dribbler than Cristiano ever was, however, goalscorer is another thing.....

[sutro 1,026]

  On 31/12/2013 at 15:53, Korea said:

hazard not a goalscorer like those 2 are...

Hazard isnt in the mold of Bale/Cristiano..

Bale/Cristiano both have incredible rocket shots, are 6'1 and have incredible top speed...

hazard too me is already a better dribbler than Cristiano ever was, however, goalscorer is another thing.....

This is gonne end up in a endless discussion and since its the Mata topic we better stick to that

[Korea 734]

  On 31/12/2013 at 16:00, sutro said:

This is gonne end up in a endless discussion and since its the Mata topic we better stick to that

Agreed...

[The Mak 4,459]

  On 31/12/2013 at 13:21, Peace. said:

All the players we have decided to part ways with have had the possibility to go quite easely. Kalou, Malouda, Bosingwa, Alex, Anelka, Belletti, Joe Cole, Ballack, Deco, etc... went for free. Carvalho and Zirkhov went for peanuts. The club could have sold Essien for a lot of money when it was already clear that he was past it, yet we were happy enough to keep him and pay him while he could not play. We are not afraid of sending players on loan to potential title contenders ! When we did not wanted Sturridge anymore, we did not cause any trouble to let him go to a club that has robbed us 50 million fucking pounds. As far as I can remember, the only transfer involving big money was Robben...

In other words, If Mourinho and the club deem Mata as surplus to requirement and have their eyes upon some player ; then they most certainly will not wait that someone put £50m on the table.

The bottom line is that, there are a lot of arguments for clubs to avoid paying silly money to get him — and it is quite possible that José and Roman do not even bother to counter these arguments. That is why I can easily fashion Mata being sold as a bargain, kinda like what happened with Robben and Sneijder at Madrid, and Ibrahimovic at Barça ; or even being part of an exachange deal.

I understand your sentiment, but I can still see Mata going for £30-40m purely based on his ability and age.

A lot of the players you've mentioned were bought at around Mata's age, so they went for exorbitant fees and were sold for very little or nothing considering they were either touching 30 or on the wrong side of it by the time they were moved on. The exception is Zhirkov. You said he went for peanuts but he actually went for around £13m which was an exceptional fee considering we bought him for £15-18m and he was largely unimpressive.

The purchase of Mata (and others of 2011 like Lukaku & Courtois) however signaled a significant shift in our purchasing behaviour up until that point as we had started to buy potential in the age range of 17-22 and not just established players or at youth level like the years before. Mata, Lukaku and Courtois have all flourished since their purchase (discounting this year for Mata) and we would not accept selling Lukaku or Courtois for little or nothing. Mata's first two years here should still stand as a testament of what he is capable of; it would be the main reason clubs want him after all.

That, coupled with the example of Robben & Zhirkov - that being, if the right club wants him they will still pay a considerable amount - is why it's not totally unrealistic for people to imagine him going between £30-40m. Again, I emphasise right club because we're not going to transfer list him and expect £30m+, but If a club comes in for him it's the very least we should be looking for. This is all based on a club wanting Mata, not us wanting to get rid of him, which I cannot see. I think we would rather keep him than sell him for a little amount or, at the very least, for him to be used as a significant bargaining chip in an exchange deal.

[AndersonBLUE 819]

It would be stupid to let a player of Mata's quality go so close to a congested fixture list. We need him in these times.

I'm pretty sure we will sign as little as one player in January then more in the summer. Juan is here to stay untill the end of the season

[BleedsBlue 1,549]

The Spaniard is not having the best time this season.He's being played out of position and hasn't been getting much game time because of the quality players we have.

So,its important that we accept the situation and be prepared for his departure in the summer.It'll frankly be the best solution for both parties.Mata is a class player and he'll be an important part to any team,especially PSG. Mata's vision and creativity would provide some great service to Cavani and Ibra.

Also,what's important is that Mata will start enjoying his game again.He's an amazing player and deserves to play every week.

[remains of the day 564]

I’m really not understanding some of the points being made on Mata's value. People are bringing up his quietness and marketability – of course, there are some cases where a player’s marketability is a factor in their transfer fee – i.e the Kakas, Ronaldos, Ibras and before them, Beckham etc but that's not always the case. ‘Quietness’ certainly didn’t stop us from agreeing to pay a fee of 30 million for Willian, a player who i’m sure not many of us had watched more than a handful of times. If Willian - who has spent the bulk of his career playing in the Ukrainian league & Russian league and with career stats that aren’t exactly all that impressive mind you - can go for 30 million in the market, you’d be hard pressed to argue that Chelsea can’t command 5-10 million more than that for Mata. Particularly in the current transfer market, which is very much a seller’s market.

@Peace. This point you raised......“all the players we have decided to part ways with have had the possibility to go quite easely. Kalou, Malouda, Bosingwa, Alex, Anelka, Belletti, Joe Cole, Ballack, Deco”....that’s a big question mark for me. Of course you’re right that when Chelsea sees a player as being surplus they tend to move them on for a very low fee or just wait until their contract expires. But like @Mak already mentioned, those players ….i.e Drogba, Ballack, Deco – these were all players in their 30s. Mata is only 25 years old and coming off the back of a remarkable season. His situation is not at all comparable to those players that Chelsea basically let go for nothing. The only player that Chelsea sold that we can use as a comparison to Mata, is Robben. But just look at how much the club sold him for, 35 million euros. Considerably more than the 18 million (euros) fee that they paid for him.

In Mata's case, the club made a huge investment of close to 30 million euros and in just two seasons he’s emerged as an elite player - 35 assists and 20 goals last season....he's an elite player make no mistake. Quietness? Please. This is a player who many pundits agree was one of the best players in the premier league last season and he’s only now entering his peak years. There's much more to come from him. If the club decides to sell him they’d surely be looking to secure a significant profit on him and would be well within reason to ask for more than 30 million.

[FabHazard 655]

I am pretty sure that he will not leave in january transfer window....i think he will finish his contract with chelsea...eventhough he is not playing that much he will be in spain NT world cup squad....psg wont buy him in january because he is cup-tied..

[Spike 12,049]

I miss Mata.

[Sheva. 5,373]

He won't be sold now, or our depth chart will be really fucked with KDB also leaving.

Just play him more in the home games vs the lesser teams, and find a solution in the summer.

[Namika 922]

He's not playing at the level of Willian, Hazard and Oscar.

[The only place to be 11,313]

We look better with him not in the team right now. Him and De Bruyne simply don't seem to play with the same speed as Willian, Oscar and Hazard and there's an intensity that is missing without those three.

He's probably here until the summer but sometimes players don't fit systems no matter what you do.

[Zoro 151]

We can get a lot more for him now then we would in the summer. Sell him and buy a striker I say.

[DoubleO 192]

Mata..... I like him very much but he looked like a clown today. He moaned when he was substituted, then Oscar did 1+2 in 30 minutes. Seems like Oscar actually fits our system better than Juan.

I really like him, but looks like we might sell him in January. At least we get some funds to buy a striker / CDM.

[Shakez 755]

Im gutted for the lad, football can be ruthless if you at a top club. Can't see us selling him now though because we still need him. Willian Oscar and Hazard can't play all the time.

[Korea 734]

I thought Mata played well....

Just no one scored during his stint.

[Special Juan 27,621]

If he has a gripe he needs to take it up with Jose out of sight of cameras, not whilst being subbed for Jose to see later.

Everyone has to fight for their place, Mata ain't no different.