Since arriving at Chelsea in the summer of 2011 for £23.5 million Juan Mata has played an integral part in their success. He has helped them win both the FA Cup and the Champions League in his first season, and tasted Europa League success last season. He has been a huge hit with fans since his arrival and was voted Player of the Year in both seasons at the club.
Yet, since the return of Jose Mourinho in the summer, Mata has found himself warming the bench at Stamford Bridge more often than not, and has been a peripheral figure at best under the Special One. The situation is a strange one, and many questions are raised - Why isn't he featuring for Mourinho? Why have the fans not made more of an issue out of this? And what does the future hold for Juan Mata?
The first of these questions is probably the most intriguing. Many pundits and journalists have tried to explain the reason for his exclusions, and Mourinho himself has tried to play down any rumours of discontent with the player, saying he wants him part of the squad and doesn't want him to leave. The theory which has been doing the rounds is that Mourinho is not happy with Mata's work rate off the ball, feeling he doesn't do enough defensively to win the ball back or retreat back and help out the midfield and defence. This theory has been given life by the improvements to Eden Hazard's defensive game, something which Jose Mourinho claimed at the beginning of the season could be the difference between him being a very good player and a great one. Hazard has been in brilliant form this season and only serves to prove the idea that all the team must work defensively in order to fit in with Mourinho's philosophy.
However, I believe there is more to it than that. Having seen plenty of Chelsea this season I believe Mourinho has been leaving him out because he tends to slow the game down. I am not for a second encouraging the omission of Juan Mata from the team - in fact I firmly believe he should be one of the first names on the team sheet. However it is important to analyse this from the manager's point of view in order to understand why he is being left out so regularly. Mourinho has Chelsea playing this season with a pacey and direct counter attacking approach. The idea being that when the opposition attacks break down, Chelsea break quickly, with Hazard, Oscar or Willian swiftly moving the ball forward. When playing this way, Juan Mata does not fit as well as the likes of Hazard or Willian. Mata likes to get on the ball and probe, finding gaps and playing threaded through balls. His overall game is much slower and he does not possess the pace of Hazard, Willian or even Andre Shurrle. Competition for those three positions behind the striker is intense at Chelsea, with Mata, Hazard, Willian, Shurrle, Oscar, and De Bruyne all fighting for positions. But that is no excuse for the severe lack of game time afforded to Mata since the beginning of the season.
Mata is without doubt a talented footballer, and his importance to the team over the past two years cannot be underestimated. However, if Mourinho continues to play the way he currently is, Juan Mata will continue to find himself watching games from the comfort of the bench.
So why haven't the Chelsea fans been making more noise about their Player of the Year twice running being left out so often. It is simply because the team are still winning, and because Jose Mourinho is revered as a God at Stamford Bridge. There are no Chelsea fans who are happy with Mata being left out, but ask any fan what they think about it and the phrase, "Jose knows what he is doing" continues to get used. The fans believe that Mourinho cannot do wrong and they will not want to come to loggerheads with him over this issue. On top of this the team are, without firing on all cylinders yet, still in the hunt for the Premier League, and through to the next round of the FA Cup and Champions League. If the team were not getting results, and going through a rough period there is no doubt the calls for Juan Mata to be starting games would increase and fans may begin to get restless about the treatment of one of their most popular figures.
Speculation about the future of Juan Mata has been rife over the past months and with the January transfer window now open, more and more clubs are getting linked with the little Spaniard. Jose Mourinho continues to play down speculation, saying he still is an important part of the team and is not for sale. But the rumours are continuing to intensify and although he may not go this month, Chelsea fans may need to accept the idea he could be gone in the summer. Recent reports have linked him with moves to Paris-St Germain or Barcelona. The deal with PSG would be a more likely move however in the past few days, talk has increased about a move back to Spain but with Atletico Madrid not Barcelona. The belief is that with Atletico pushing hard in La Liga this season, they want Mata to come in and play a part in driving on in the league.
Juan Mata is a huge talent, who will no doubt attract numerous top clubs in Europe. Mourinho says he isn't going anywhere, but that is becoming more and more difficult to believe. Maybe not now in January but come the end of the season, there is strong belief Juan Mata will be leaving London and heading elsewhere.
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