Manchester United Transfer News: Juan Mata Targeted, Edinson Cavani Latest

Manchester United are facing a summer battle to keep Juan Mata as Juventus view the Spanish playmaker as an “ideal” signing, writes Gianluca Di Marzio.

Mata was a club record signing for United when he joined from Chelsea in the January transfer window in 2014 and he has scored 13 goals, making eight assists, per WhoScored.com, in 42 Premier League appearances for the club.

However, Juventus are in the market for a new playmaker in the summer and Mata is one of their options, per Di Marzio, along with Chelsea’s Oscar and Borussia Dortmund’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Mata has not always been a regular in the starting line-up since Louis van Gaal was appointed manager at Old Trafford. However, in recent weeks he has flourished in a role on the right-hand side and scored both goals in the 2-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield in March.

Jamie Redknapp, writing in the Daily Mail, was full of praise for Mata after his performance against Liverpool:

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I've heard some United fans and ex-pros saying he’s got no pace or he can’t do this or that. When he gets in the right place at the right time, he can cut open any team. He has a fantastic football brain and his decision-making is so quick that he doesn't need to be fast. If you can read the game that well and take up intelligent positions then pace is not necessary. Nothing moves faster than the ball.

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Those attributes would certainly fit in well at Juventus, while Tottenham were recently linked with an £18 million bid for Mata, per Jamie Sanderson of the Metro.

You can’t imagine United selling Mata for less than half the price they paid Chelsea for him, and given his current importance to the team, it is hard to see him moving on this summer.

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Mata is not the only player who concerns United and Juventus, though, as Di Marzio writes that the Italian champions could also make a move for Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani.

United are willing to offer £60 million for Cavani, per Jeremy Cross of the Daily Star, as Van Gaal prepares to let Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao leave Old Trafford at the end of the season.

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But, if Carlos Tevez decides to leave Juventus for Boca Juniors this summer, Cavani is wanted by the Serie A club as well.

Cavani has proven himself to be a top-class striker at Napoli and PSG, and his agent Claudio Anellucci told Radio Olympia (h/t Ian Holyman of ESPN) that there is interest from England and Spain in the Uruguayan.

Atletico Madrid are also interested in Cavani and Jonathan Johnson says it would be a major coup for the Spanish club if they do sign him:

United do have the financial muscle to outbid Juventus, if there is a fight to sign Cavani at the end of the season, and he has the characteristics to be a big hit at Old Trafford.

If United also fend off any Juventus interest in Mata, then adding Cavani to the squad would give Van Gaal a much stronger chance of mounting a sustained Premier League title challenge next season.