Chelsea Transfer News: Juan Mata Comments Won't End Transfer Speculation

When a player says he is happy at a football club, the cynical will remark that he must be leaving. And so we come to Juan Mata, whose recent remarks to Chelsea TV (h/t the Telegraph) valiantly sought to dispel rumours that would see him leave Stamford Bridge.

The most surprising part of it all is that people are still surprised.

He may have come off the best season of his career, but a new manager will always give birth to new speculation. A rift between player and coach is something that fills columns around the world, and, per the Irish Independent, the reports were indicating such a situation between Mata and his new boss, Jose Mourinho.

This isn't going to end just because Mata says it should. 

Speculation will rise over the season the moment Mata is left on the bench, increasing further if he is not featured at all. Despite the fact that a rotation system is commonplace around the world, a "falling out of favour" story is never far behind.

Mourinho himself has tried to calm the storm, with little success. He maintained that Mata's lack of match fitness was the issue behind his absence from two of Chelsea's opening three games, emphatically telling Metro that "there is no story."

That quote was reported on August 29. On August 31, Dave Kidd of the Sunday People published a piece inferring that Mata could submit a last-minute transfer request and join Arsenal. This continued until September 2, when French television channel Infosport Plus (h/t the Independent) stated that the Chelsea favourite was in talks with both Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain.

All of this has resulted in Mata himself being forced to make a statement on the issue, undoubtedly in the hope that this will finally die down. That won't stop the whispers, however, and the statement only provides quotes on which to hang further questions.

Mata doesn't appear to be a player who is affected by this unwarranted speculation, so his performance on the pitch is unlikely to suffer. Although his role may be diminished, the man voted by B/R's Sam Tighe as the best player in the Premier League will remain at Chelsea.

Until January, when we do this all again.