MATA TO SEAL MAN UTD DEAL IN 24 HOURS

According to Ian Herbert of The Independent,
Manchester United are closing in on the £40m
signing of Chelsea’s Juan Mata tonight, after the
player did not train with the west London side and
told friends that he was destined for Old Trafford.

The Premier League champions have maintained
throughout the day that there had been no bid from
them for the 25-year-old Spanish international,
though that was understood to be of no
significance, since the club are understood to have
had intermediaries working to drive home the deal.
Using third parties would seem to be a different
way of doing business than the traditional method,
which has directly involved former chief executive

David Gill. It may be an acknowledgement from
Gill’s successor, Ed Woodward, that help is required
to drive through the deals which eluded United this
summer.
The transfer is expected to be concluded in the
next 24 hours, lifting spirits around Old Trafford
ahead of United’s vital Capital One Cup semi-final
second leg against Sunderland. Mata is expected to
be introduced to his new teammates in the next 48
hours.

There was tension throughout the day, with strong
rumours that Paris Saint Germain, whose initial bid
for Mata this month had been £30m, had upped
their offer to £45m. The French side were hours
away from securing Mata’s signature in the
summer. But by lunchtime there was confidence at
Old Trafford that the deal which will break the
club’s transfer record was on the way to being
secured.

Chelsea were unwilling to discuss the developing
deal, though Mata was not understood to have put
in a transfer request to speed things through.

Is this a good move by United?