Chelsea could be on the verge of snapping up Valencia star Juan Mata after agreeing a fee and personal terms for the player, according to Spanish publication Marca.
Reports suggest that the Spaniard has agreed to a five-year contract worth £55,000 per week and the transfer fee is thought be around the £24 million mark.
Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas was asked about the 23-year-old winger after he saw his Chelsea side defeat West Brom 2-1 at Stamford Bridge and admitted to being an admirer of the player, but was coy on the rumours linking Mata to the west London club.
AVB said:
“He’s a player who scores and assists and he can add to any squad in the world.
“He’s not our player but he’s an interesting player … a very good player.”
But Marca believe the deal is done:
“Mata and Chelsea have already come to an agreement over personal terms, with the player receiving a five-year contract worth over 3M per season. Villas-Boas made a personal request for the transfer, and Mata will be wearing #10 in the Premier League. For Valencia, the transfer is done, with only some questions about the nature of payments left to resolve.”
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Should this deal go through it’ll surely be a blow to Arsenal and Tottenham, who have been linked with Mata during the current transfer window and it’ll be something of a coup for Chelsea as he’s one of Europe’s hottest properties, is young and I believe he would help provide the width and creativity that we lack.
Also, it’s significant that he is set to take up the number 10 jersey, which is currently occupied by Yossi Benayoun, even though we’ve rarely seen him in it. The Israeli has been linked with the exit door this summer and there have been rumours that he may be used as a makeweight in a deal for Tottenham’s Luka Modric, so maybe those stories have an element of truth in them. However, I can’t see Spurs wanting a 31-year-old with injury problems in exchange for one of their most prized assets and if a deal is to be done it’ll likely be a substantial cash only offer.
Mata scored 9 goals and made 15 assists for Valencia last season. He recently helped Spain win the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, in which he scored 2 goals and was named in the team of the tournament.
What do you think of Mata and do you think he will provide exactly what Chelsea needs (assuming this deal happens)?
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