Well respected Spanish journalist Guillm Balague has claimed Arsenal have blown their chances of signing Juan Mata and the player will now get a new contract and stay at Valencia.
Arsenal had all but agreed a deal that would see Mata move to North London for a fee of 23m EURO’s, a figure that triggered a release clause in Mata’s contract, however a deadline of midnight on the 31st July was also in place for Valencia to have received the funds for the transfer.
The Gunners failed to meet that deadline meaning Valencia can now increase the asking price to over 30m EURO’s, a figure Arsenal are unlikely to meet.
Balague stressed that Mata made it clear he would only leave Valencia for either Barcelona or Arsenal, ruling out a potential move to Tottenham who had also made an enquiry. On Sunday Mata eagerly awaited news but no call from Arsenal came and according to Balague, the transfer is now all but dead and the most likely scenario will be that Mata gets a new bumper deal and remains at Valencia for at least another season.
The reason for Arsenal’s cold feet remains unclear, but this news is unlikely to go down well with the Emirates faithful who are growing increasingly frustrated at the clubs lack of investment.
Listen to Balague’s interview in full here
***UPDATE*** Juan Mata’s father has since confirmed Arsenal have had a bid rejected for his son, but he believes the Gunners will be back with another bid. More on this when we get it….
