By Football Talk.
Premier League big-boys Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United have been alerted by the news that Valencia’s Juan Mata would consider a switch to England should his current club decide to sell him.
Valencia are crippled by mounting debt and have already sold David Villa to Barcelona for £35m, and it’s expected they will be forced into selling further star players to balance the books, with David Silva as well as Juan Mata being touted as possible casualties. In an interview with FourFourTwo, Mata confirmed that the financial situation at the Spanish club is looking pretty bleak:
“I don’t know if I’ll be sold, it depends on the economic situation of the club, which right now isn’t so good. In the summer we have to raise a lot of money, and there is a possibility that they may have to sell players.”
The 22-year-old attacking midfielder has attracted interest from all over Europe after scoring 14 goals in 44 appearances last season for Valencia and would command a fee in excess of £15m. Although he maintains he is happy in Spain, if his current club decided he had to be sold, Mata believes a move to the Premier League could be on the cards, and he stated his admiration for both Arsenal and Liverpool while also comparing Manchester United and Chelsea to La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid:
“In Spain they show many Premier League games on TV and it is an inspirational league. Maybe I would like to play in the Premier League.
At the moment I’m here, I love living in Valencia and playing in the Spanish league, but in England the league is also top class and there are many big teams. Who knows?
I admire Arsenal and the philosophy that the young players have. Liverpool, with their Spanish players – they also have an incredible squad.
And Manchester United and Chelsea are teams that are very big, like Real Madrid and Barcelona, with money and incredible players.”
