3 reasons why Chelsea playmaker Juan Mata would be perfect for Manchester United

Rooney’s replacement

Signing Mata up to help shoulder some of the burden from Januzaj and co. may well cut game time from Kagawa in the short-term but with exit rumours still hanging over Rooney’s future at Old Trafford, ultimately the Japanese might not be the man to be supplanted.

This season, Rooney has been the club’s most effective player, contributing nine goals and nine assists in 17 league appearances, with an additional 31 key passes to boot. Yet his directness, both as a provider and scorer, has sometimes undermined the more patient play of those around him.

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The Englishman can be rather clumsy as a No. 10 with his frustratingly inconsistent first touch and passing abilities over short distances. As a replacement in that sense, Mata would arguably be an upgrade as a player more naturally suited to life in the hole.

Besides his stats as a goal conjurer, combativeness is often cited as Rooney’s other great strength, and while even last season Mata was unable to match the striker in terms of average defensive actions per game—one versus three—he isn’t exactly a meek passenger.

Mourinho may have been keen to cultivate a image of the Spaniard as a lazy flair player upon his return to English football but in a more pivotal role under Roberto Di Matteo and Rafael Benitez, he could regularly be found digging out interceptions and tackles in his own half.

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Though he wouldn’t be able to fully make up for the lost robustness of Rooney’s supportive link up play when dropping deep into midfield, Mata’s reliability as a more lithe and nuanced playmaker would bring other options.

With the team’s attacking impetus concentrated on the likes of Januzaj and Mata in the final third, United’s central midfielders would be able to lose any pretensions of being creative, and focussing instead on stodging up the team’s spine.

The likes of Tom Cleverley, Marouane Fellaini and Michael Carrick have all struggled to find their feet so far season and could benefit from the less convoluted tasks of keeping things tight and tidy rather than attempting to play a complete game from deep. Without the required quality to play a flowing, box-to-box game, United’s midfield may as well stay conservative and leave the inspiration to those who can provide it.

It’s also worth noting the stinging deliveries provided by Mata from set-piece situations, especially considering Rooney’s recent improvement in this area. David De Gea would likely prefer to have his fellow countryman on his side rather than having to face him once again in their entertaining yet nerve-wracking dead ball duels.

World Cup motivation

Finally, with his opportunities cut short of late at Chelsea, and squad slots in the Spanish national team at premium heading into the 2014 World Cup, signing Mata for the run-in could be the perfect shot in the arm United need to haul in fourth place.

With his mind and body focused on grabbing a role in Vicente Del Bosque’s squad for the summer, the Chelsea man would likely be fixated on grabbing the headlines and impressing observers at every turn.

It’s also likely that he would be granted the platform to make such an impact at United, with Januzaj, Rooney and Van Persie’s best positions being complementary to his own rather than a threat to his game time like Oscar and Hazard at Stamford Bridge.

United need more players ready and able to take the initiative during games and Mata, committed to his own personal campaign for World Cup football in the summer, would be a potent new for Moyes should he be able to acquire him in January.