Manchester United Transfer News: Latest on Paul Pogba and Juan Mata Rumours

Manchester United are ready to offer Juan Mata to Juventus as a makeweight in a move for Paul Pogba.

That’s according to Steve Bates of the Sunday People (h/t the Sunday Mirror), who stated new Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho is set to sell the Spain midfielder for a second time, having moved him on at Chelsea. He reportedly feels as though he can use Mata as an incentive in order to bring Pogba to Old Trafford.

“Italian sources claim Mata has been offered to Juve with United desperate to land 23-year-old powerhouse Pogba,” added Bates.

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A grim picture for Mata has also been painted by Neil Fissler of the Sunday Express, with the new boss set to ruthlessly wield the axe. It’s suggested Everton will try to lure the Spain international to Goodison Park, with a fee of £20 million mentioned.

While Mata played a part in every league game under the guidance of former manager Louis van Gaal last season, he doesn’t possess the standard attributes Mourinho looks for in a footballer. Indeed, Bleacher Report’s Rob Blanchette doesn’t see where the former Chelsea man will fit in under Mourinho:

The player will not want to be on the periphery of things at Old Trafford. He missed out on the Spain squad for the 2016 UEFA European Championship, and there was no consistency in the position he played at Old Trafford last term.

At a club such as Everton, Mata would potentially become the fulcrum of the team. When deployed behind the centre-forward, the ex-Chelsea man is a creative force, able to find space, pick passes and take on opponents. He’s experienced at the top level too, having won the Euros, FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Champions League.

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However, as these numbers from league games show, he’s not robust enough in his defensive duties to fit into the way Mourinho wants to operate; Pogba, by comparison, is:

	Mata	Pogba
Apps (Sub)	34 (4)	33 (2)
Goals	5	8
Assists	6	12
Shots per game	1.5	3.5
Key passes per game	1.4	1.5
Dribbles per game	0.8	2.9
Tackles per game	0.8	2.2
Interceptions per game	0.6	1.3

The midfield dynamo has been strongly linked with a switch to the Red Devils and valued at a whopping £100 million, per Bates.

It’s a huge amount of money for a young player who is still finding his feet at the highest level. Pogba has made massive progress since moving to Juventus in 2012 and has become the linchpin of the Italian champions’ hugely successful side in recent years. It’s an offer Juve would surely have to consider, though.

Paul Hayward of the Daily Telegraph is unsure whether Pogba is a footballer who should demand that kind of capital:

Juventus are said to be interested in Mata, although they would prefer cash up front if they were to move their star man on, according to Bates. Part-exchange deals are tough to negotiate in the modern game given just how complicated it is to get a standard, big-money transfer over the line.

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After the captures of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Eric Bailly and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, getting Pogba on board would be another exciting signing from Mourinho, reasserting his team’s credentials as title challengers this season. It’d also send a message to the football world that the Red Devils mean business once again, per sports journalist Liam Canning:

Many associated with United would be sad to see the back of Mata. The midfielder has so much class, has performed well for the Red Devils and netted some vital goals for the football club since his move from the Blues in 2014.

Pogba is the perfect player for Mourinho to build his United side around in the long term. The Frenchman has both poise and power, and with some fine tuning, he could become even more of a behemoth in the middle of the park.