Juan Mata: Why Manchester United need to keep hold of the skillful Spaniard

With his contract expiring next summer and no signs of an extension so far, the stage seems set for Juan Mata to end his association with the Red Devils. We explore why Jose Mourinho would be wise to convince him to stay.

When David Moyes signed Mata back in the January 2014 transfer window, those associated with Manchester United expected big things, not least the then-manager himself. After all, this was a player who had just won Chelsea’s Player of the Year award the previous season and was widely considered as one of the finest playmakers in the Premier League.

Mata was expected to bring craft and style to the United team which looked lost and devoid of identity after Sir Alex Ferguson retired. True to the expectation, the Spaniard oozed class right from day 1 – when he arrived at United’s Carrington training ground to put pen to his contract with United.

While he hasn’t exactly turned world-beating performances on a weekly basis in the United shirt, Mata has remained a crucial member of the squad under Moyes’ successors, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho. It is important to remember that the latter was the Chelsea manager who sanctioned Mata’s move to United, less than a year after the diminutive playmaker scooped Chelsea’s end-of-season awards in 2013.

Rumors that Real Madrid are interested to sign Mata have been circling, with United also reported to be keen on cashing in on the Spaniard. In spite of these speculations, however, Mata seems keen to extend his stay at Old Trafford, where he is a firm fan favourite because of his easy-on-the-eye playing style and generally amicable personality.

While Mata may be considered surplus to requirements because United’s attacking options are not exactly limited at the moment, he still has a prominent role to play in the team if United are going to have a chance of competing on all fronts this season.

A return to the past

Prior to his spell with United, Mata had always been considered an attacking midfielder who lacked the pace and graft to play on the flanks. Louis van Gaal saw fit to lineup Mata on the right flank which predominantly saw him cutting inside frequently to look for through passes or link-up play, a role which the manager described as a “false right-winger”.

The role has carried on for Mata under Jose Mourinho and while he hasn’t done too badly, it is easy to see that Mata has been struggling to replicate his glittering Chelsea form due to the inability to play in his favoured position.

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Ahead of Mata in the pecking order for the No. 10 role is Henrikh Mkhitaryan. While the Armenian started the season firing on all cylinders and fully justified the manager’s trust, he has toiled in recent weeks and probably need some time off to rediscover his form.

Mourinho could do much worse than picking Mata to fill in for Mkhitaryan, given the playmaker’s proven record of playing in the central attacking midfield position.

While it is true that Mkhitaryan is an excellent dribbler and generally possesses more variety to his game compared to Mata, the latter has a lot more facets than he is given credit for.

What Mata lacks in athleticism, he more than makes up for with his quick thinking, excellent technique, and an eye for the killer pass. He could be the key to United rediscovering their early-season ruthlessness and gaining momentum on the title race which has lost some of its steam in recent weeks.

Model professional

If there is ever a word which could describe Juan Mata, none would probably represent him better than a professional. In his last half-season of wearing the Chelsea blue, he only featured sparingly for the team because the manager had concerns over his work rate.

Sitting on the bench for long periods is undoubtedly frustrating for every professional player, especially those who are supposedly the star of the team. More over than not, their murmurs of discontent will spread out and have a negative impact on the squad’s morale as a whole. This was not the case with Mata.

Instead of sulking around, Mata chose to remain professional by sticking to his responsibilities and giving his 100 percent whenever he was called upon. Such professionalism is an aspect rarely found with most players in this day and age and it can only be a good thing to have Mata in the squad for younger players to look up to.

Football is increasingly becoming a team game where depth of squad is crucial and as such, having professionals such as Mata ready for squad rotation every now and then is a blessing most teams could only pray for.

Next: Jose Mourinho is set to leave Manchester United for European Giant

At the moment, United fans can only hope that their manager doesn’t decide to say farewell to Mata for the second time, for there is still a huge role for him to play in the team, both on and off the field.