Will Mourinho push Juan Mata out again?

Every single day we hear about Jose Mourinho going to Manchester United in the summer, and by the sounds of it, it seems like a done deal. However, Mourinho is known for having it his way or no way and if some players don’t meet his criteria they won’t be around much longer, this is why I fear for Juan Mata.

For a couple of years Mata was Chelsea’s best player and would be central to everything that happened for them going forward, until the return of Mourinho. It seemed very clear from day one that Mourinho would make the current Chelsea team his own again and this meant certain players didn’t make the cut.

Mata was unfortunately one of this players that Mourinho didn’t fancy, which came as a surprise to everyone as he had been an ever consistent performer for Chelsea since his move to Stamford Bridge from Valencia. However, it all went very sour for Mata when Mourinho took charge again, as he found himself on the bench for the majority of the season, until Manchester United came calling for his signature in the January transfer window.

He began to find his form again at United and especially under Louis Van Gaal he has played very well. In fact he has been one of the shining lights in a poor time for United recently. It is becoming more and more likely that Van Gaal’s time at United will come to an end at the end of this season, despite some positive results in the last few weeks.

There hasn’t been many names thrown into the mix for the United job as of yet, which is quite surprising, but it is almost becoming inevitable that Mourinho will be the man to replace Van Gaal.

What will this mean for Mata?

It seems like it all ended on bad terms for Mata and Mourinho, which could mean the exit door could be a possibility for the little Spaniard. However, is there a possibility that Mourinho will recognise the mistake him made letting Mata go and try to make peace with him and have him as part of his United team.

More from Playing for 90

• Alexia Putellas reaches 400 games with Barcelona
• Everything you need to know ahead of the 250th ‘Super Clásico’
• Barcelona put five past Real Betis
• Manchester City suffer but come away with win over West Ham
• Baffling Liga MX ruling strips Puebla of a hard-earned victory

Mata is a fantastic player who deserves to be playing at the very top-level and if he is unfavoured by Mourinho then he may need to leave United, should Mourinho get the job. Although, I can’t imagine there will be a shortage of clubs chasing for Mata’s signature this summer.

Two clubs that I can imagine he will fit very well into are, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. Both clubs are fighting for the title this season and will no doubt be looking to improve with some attacking quality in the summer for likely Champions League campaigns next season. Also, big teams around Europe would take Mata into their team easily because he is a great player.

Although, we have since this before with Mourinho who hasn’t fancied players, for example, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne. Both players were sent through the exit door at Chelsea by Mourinho and have gone on to be fantastic players. So maybe Mourinho isn’t as great as everyone makes out. But, he is likely to be the Manchester United manager come next season and Mata’s position with the club will come under question.