BBC reporting Chelsea agreed to buy for £23.5m... Oh well he would have been good. Having said that I wasn't that impressed with him in the preseason friendly http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14600979.stm
I think he will be good for Chelsea. May even revive Torres, only the season will tell. However, put him up against Enrique or kelly and they should keep him quiet.
I can only assume that Kenny wasn't seriously interested because it's not an extortionate fee.Maybe it was really all paper talk.Something chelski have been crying out for though.
Chelsea have got something we havent, Champions League football. Its been said that Mata was/is looking for CL this year if he was going to leave Valencia. No point bidding if you know that you cant win.
He isn't an out and winger though, that's why I believe Dalglish didn't want him. He is more of a Maxi or Silva type player to play behind the striker.
True. It is easy to say we missed out..when in reality we probably didn't stand a chance. I'm happy with PL proven Downing.
Signing Mata wouldn't have suddenly made us great you know. Mata is not the be all end all. So what Chelsea are likely to sign him. It wont suddenly make them great either. He is just one man.
Would I have liked him? Of course, I think who missed out was Arsenal but once Cesc left, I don't think they stood a chance of signing him....
This. To get the best out of what we have, we need a player who will burst down the touchline and whip a cross in (Downing). Not someone who'll cut inside and look to play quick one twos (Mata). Would work nicely with Suarez, I admit, but Carroll isn't the sort to dart in behind and slot a neat one round the keeper. Plus we're already set up quite nicely for Suarez, particularly when Maxi, Dirk and Meireles play, so we don't need anything really adding there. We can start adding a few luxury players, which I believe Mata to be, if/when we get back in the CL.
True that but one man who will be used like a baseball bat for wums and pundits to hit us over the head. Stewart Downing can put all the perfect crosses along the 6-yard line he likes but Mata will only have to look like getting past a man to be the best signing we never made.
Apparently Torres was texting him all summer trying to get him to join! Probably thinks the service he's getting isn't good enough, I'm not sure he will do any better with mata though
I don't buy the 'I want Champions League football' stuff. Its clear Arsenal were interested in him but he never went to them, why? I know Arsenal are in a bad position but when they offered to buy him they had Cesc, Nasri, Clichy and even Gervinho at the time. Obviously we don't know his personal motives but in my opinion its a glory hunting player that is Juan Mata (If he joins)
He did agree to go, but his buy out clause expired and rose to 60m Euros before the deal was done. Arsenal, it appears, were unwilling to renegotiate and thus Chelsea have come in for him. Arsenal could've got him for around £22m had they acted sooner. Papers suggesting Mata was been 'keen to move to Chelsea all summer' are talking rubbish. He was interested in Arsenal.
Don't be too quick to judge Mata... sure, maybe he didn't want us due to Champions League... that's fair. And maybe he had a great-grandparent from England so considers himself too British for Arsenal.
