Just as it looked like Arsenal had missed the chance to sign Valencia’s Juan Mata, the players father has given Gunners fans fresh hope.
Reports yesterday suggested Arsenal had failed to meet the buy-out clause on Mata’s contract, believed to be around £18m, and the player would remain in Spain for another year.
However, Juan Manuel Mata Rodriguez has claimed while Arsenal’s offer has been knocked back, he thinks the Londoners will return with another offer. He also revealed that Inter Milan have entered the race for his son but they have yet to submit an offer:
“Valencia simply rejected their offer,” said Mata’s father to calciomercato.com. “After some hesitation they answered ‘no’ to the Gunners’ offer.
“So my son remains a Valencia player, for now. But I don’t think it’s their last offer.
“There are several offers for Mata and I think that Arsenal will come forward again. The situation is still evolving.
“Are Inter Milan one of the interested teams? I know my son holds Milan in high esteem. We’ll see if Inter will come forward directly.”
