Manchester United are set to rob Everton

If Manchester United get 20 million pounds from Everton for Juan Mata then Ed Woodward deserves a lot of heartfelt apologies

Manchester United’s Ed Woodward hasn’t had a lot of clear-cut victories during his time in charge of the club’s transfer moves, but he might be about to receive a giant win. If he’s able to talk Everton into paying 20 million pounds for Juan Mata they may have to name a stand at Old Trafford after him.

Multiple reports from England claim that Mata is set to move to Goodison Park in the coming days. To put it mildly, this sounds like a really bad idea from the Everton perspective.

After all, the biggest problem the club endured last season under Roberto Martinez was its lack of defensive identity. Many pundits, myself included saw the hiring of Ronald Koeman to replace Martinez as the first step towards solidifying the club’s defense. If the Toffees are really poised to add Mata I may have to rethink that.

The simple truth is that Juan Mata just isn’t a good Premier League midfielder at this point in his career. I don’t want to belabor that point too much here, so if you want read how I substantiate that claim feel free to refer to yesterday’s piece on the subject. Suffice it to say that the objective statistics make it pretty clear that Mata is a below average attacking midfielder in England’s top-flight.

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Even if you’re inclined to believe that Mata can still be an above average attacker, it could only be as a number ten who is truly allowed to pull the strings of an attack. There, in the middle of the pitch, Mata’s class on the ball could help unlock more athletic teammates.

That isn’t going to be the case at Everton unless they unload Ross Barkley. He is firmly entrenched as the club’s number ten and Mata’s arrival shouldn’t change that in the slightest. If it does, then Koeman and the higher-ups at Goodison Park truly need to have their heads examined.

That leaves only two options for Everton as it pertains to Mata. They are either purchasing him as a back up to Barkley or to start out wide. If he’s going to be the second choice number ten then they’re grossly overpaying for his services. Why not spend half that fee on a player who may actually improve to become an above average Premier League regular?

That leaves the most likely scenario as Mata starting out wide in concert with Barkley. He just isn’t athletic enough to do that job in the Premier League. Sure, his ability to play balls in from the wing will look good every once in a while, but he will subtly kill his side.

Mata’s defensive contribution is poor at best. He’s not going to track back to help his fullbacks very often, and that’s one of the things that plagued Everton the most under Martinez. Koeman should be on the lookout for an athletic winger who can contribute on both ends of the pitch. Instead, he is seemingly enamored with Mata’s reputation.

Manchester United are typically the team accused of overpaying for stars in the transfer window, but if reports are true it’s going to be Everton’s turn this year. Purchasing Juan Mata for 20 million pounds may go down as one of the summer’s worst deals for the Toffees.

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