Juventus interest in Juan Mata puts Manchester United under pressure to offer new contract

Wanted | Juventus are monitoring Mata's situation at Old Trafford
AFP/Getty Images/Oli Scarff

Juventus could offer Juan Mata a way out of Manchester United, with the Italian champions interested in opening talks in January.

Mata is free to speak to foreign clubs in the New Year as he enters the final six months of his Old Trafford contract.

Juve, who have made a habit of picking up high quality free agents, have identified the Spaniard as their next potential transfer coup following the signings of Patrice Evra, Sami Khedira, Dani Alves and Emre Can in recent years.

Sources close to Mata insist he is too young to seek lucrative moves to the US or China.

Photo: Getty Images
Getty Images

The playmaker has also been linked with a return to Spain with former club Valencia or Oviedo, but the chance to experience Serie A could be appealing.

In Pictures | Manchester United vs Juventus | 23/10/2018

1/28

The slower pace of the game in Italy is also seen as ideal for Mata’s game.

United left it late to trigger a 12-month option on Mata’s contract last season, which bought them time to consider his long-term future.

Mourinho is keen to keep hold of him due to his positive impact in the dressing room – but there is also an acceptance he will not be a regular starter when United boast a fully fit squad.

But Mata has shown his value on the pitch, too, this season as one of the club’s best performers during a troubled start to the campaign.

Mourinho has been full of praise for Juve’s recruitment strategy in recent weeks – and a move for Mata would be typical of the Italians’ business in recent times.

Photo: Getty Images
Getty Images

As well as making headline signings such as Cristiano Ronaldo for £99m, they have also successfully worked the market to poach players at either ends of their careers, with Paul Pogba and Evra perfect examples of that approach.

They are interested in opening negotiations with Mata if United fail to tie up his future before the turn of the year.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in