Juan Mata – What this deal means for Man United

37M£. That was how much Man Utd agreed to pay for Juan Mata. Juan Mata was the best midfielder in the Prem before Jose returned. That’s to say, Juan Mata, who is only 25 years old right now, was the best midfielder last year. And this year, mysteriously relegated to the bench.

By most accounts, Mata was relegated as a message to the rest of the team. Similar to the prison scenario of taking down the biggest inmate, Jose entered the gulag, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, and he took down Mata, who was not really the biggest player, but a player who was the future of the team. Mourinho basically said “no.” Funny that Mata was a Real Madrid youth product. Typical Mourinho.

Juan Mata was one of the last great Valencia players sold off from the great mistake. Not too long ago, Valencia decided to make a new stadium, in order to keep up with the rest of the top teams. In fairness, this is a normal and right decision to make for any major club, and Valencia’s fan could still remember playing in the Champions League finals. And Valencia started this endeavor right before the economic collapse that crippled every corner of the map. So Valencia tried hard to stay afloat. Results were difficult under Koeman, so they brought in Unai Emery. Emery was great, and delivered results, but the team couldn’t balance books. David Silva had to be sold. Then David Villa. Jaoquin left. And Mata as well. Somewhere in there Vicente left, but he was as injured as he was talented. Mata was a cornerstone of a Valencia that, despite being strapped for cash, still pushed for the 3rd place on the Liga table. Even when Silva and Villa left, Mata guided them to wins.

As a Chelsea player, his only real failure was that he did not convert Fernando Torres back into a goal scoring threat. Mata scored where Torres would not. Manchester United may expect a different Mata. They may expect the Mata that played behind David Villa in Valencia, as Mata would be providing service for Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie. If that turns out the case, then the £37m would be well spent.

Julian Draxler – not the next Henry or RVP

Draxler was recently compared to Henry and RVP, by a goal.com writer, while being linked to Arsenal. I find this erroneous. He plays like neither.

He’s technically very gifted and plays with an attacking style, from the middle of the pitch. I do believe he could be a difference maker in Arsenal’s quest for an international trophy. They already bought Ozil, obviously, so purchasing Draxler would be a logical next step.

During the 2012-13 season, in 30 league matches, Draxler scored 10 times, and contributed 3 assists. Those 10 goals came from 60 shots, 37 of which were on target. He rarely receives cards. His benefits outweigh the liabilities.

Julian Draxler fits the mold of the Wenger player, like Walcott. Technical and attacking. He would be a very decent addition to their team. However, would be joining a team that already has Ozil, Walcott, Ramsey, Wilshire, and Cazorla. Adding Draxler, who doesn’t fill an immediate need, and creates redundancy, would be a very Chelsea move (another Mata for discussion).