Real Madrid's £135 million Cristiano Ronaldo replacement told to leave current club, Barcelona and Manchester United to pull off stunning swap deal and more: Transfer Roundup, 30 January 2019

Manchester United to swap Juan Mata for Philippe Coutinho in the summer

Well, this is quite something, isn't it? According to reports in Spain via MEN, Manchester United are set to swap Juan Mata for Philippe Coutinho in the summer.

According to Spanish publication Sport, Ernesto Valverde does not believe that Coutinho will be able to turn things around at the Camp Nou. He is of the opinion that Coutinho will not fit into any of the roles in midfield and is also second or third-choice down the left wing.

Mundo Deportivo had reported yesterday that Juan Mata's agent had travelled to Barcelona to hold talks with Barcelona. The Catalans believe that Mata will be a better fit at Barca than the former Liverpool midfielder.

Mata's current contract at Manchester United will run out in the summer and he is yet to be offered a contract extension. At the age of 30, the Premier League might get too daunting and demanding for a player of Mata's physicality and Manchester United will be keen to rope in Coutinho in exchange for the Spanish maestro.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Ananthu Anil