5 players Jose Mourinho needs to rid Manchester United of

#1 Juan Mata

Mata is not delivering the goods on the pitch

One of the nicest guys in football, Mata is a player beloved by the fans of all the clubs he has featured for. When Mourinho binned him during his second spell at Chelsea, the outcry was deafening.

Now reunited with the same man who deemed him unworthy, Mata’s showings in a Manchester United shirt have not proved Jose wrong.

Brought in by Moyes for £37.1m in January 2014, the little Spaniard has not exactly set the world on fire. It is true that he has been misused by a succession of managers at Old Trafford, from Moyes to Mourinho.

Proving the old maxim that “a person can't be two things at the same time” right, Mata has not excelled in any of the positions which these managers have placed him in be it playmaker, right-sided midfielder or deep-lying playmaker.

His slow and languid style more often than not slows down the play. His best feature, his passing, is no longer as topnotch as it was. It has been painful to watch his decline in contrast to former Valencia teammate David Silva, who like fine wine has gotten better as he has aged.

He can no longer dictate and create for United in a style similar to the leading playmakers at Europe’s premier club sides. If Mourinho’s men are to do better, they will have to do it without Mata’s influence.