Does This Fan Favourite Have A Future At Manchester United?

The appointment of Jose Mourinho as Manchester United manager saw many people predicting that Juan Mata might have played his last match in Red. However, apart from some far from concrete rumours last month about a move to Everton, he seems to be comfortable working with Mourinho again. The Spaniard was sold 6 months into Mourinho’s second tenure as Chelsea boss even though he had been Chelsea’s Player of the Year the last two years.
Mourinho was asked about Mata recently and he stated that it was the player who asked for the move rather than the club forcing him out. He also went on to say, “He is a talented player and there is space for him.” The 3 time Premier League winner has also warned that no player is guaranteed a starting place.

With the signing of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, more than one United players’ position seems to be in jeopardy. The talented Armenian is capable of playing out wide and through the middle as a number 10 as he has been so far in pre-season.
Juan Mata has not quite been prolific for United, but he has been very good in patches. A lot of this has to do with where he has been playing. He looked far more comfortable playing through the middle rather than out wide. The United attack looked a lot more threatening whenever he received the ball in and around the box rather than out on the right. The competition has definitely increased in both those positions with the likes of Januzaj returning and Pereira starting to make a claim for a first team place.

Mata in his two and a half years at United has built up a great rapport with the supporters despite signing from a rival club. He recently rubbished reports that he was looking to leave and Mourinho himself has hinted that he wants to stay.
His contract is till 2018 and he should stay at United till at least then. He will have to work very hard to fight for his place though. United have a list of quality midfielders and are looking to add another one to their ranks this summer.