Chelsea favourite on the move?

For a key cog in the creative hub of Chelsea's front-line, one could be forgiven for scoffing at the notion that Juan Mata may well be on his way out of the London club. 

Seemingly un-needed following the re-appointment of the 'Special One', the diminutive Spaniard may well be plying his trade at the Camp Nou next season, if you believe what you read in the Guardian. 

Quite why the Catalan giants need Mata however is beyond comprehension for most onlookers and, even though they are only rumours, should we really pay any attention?

Apparently so.

Mata's arrival at the Catalan capital could be facilitated by the departure of a Barca player whose future seems destined for greatness. That man is, of course, Thiago Alcantara who, despite his star turn for the Under-21's, and the insistence of his teammates, is attracting admiring glances from, most notably, Manchester United and this years treble winners, Bayern Munich.

Interestingly, despite what the Spanish club have already said, it seems as though President Sandro Rosell may sanction the youngsters departure if, and it's a big if, they can attract Mata to fill the void. 

It's a good plan in theory, plans like this usually are, however, Thiago isn't a key part of the Barcelona machine and therein lies the problem. 

As an established member of La Roja's all-conquering international side, and a more consistent performer than Eden Hazard and Oscar, one needs to seriously ask themselves if Mata would really accept the transition to a bit-part player as seemlessly as the press would have us believe?

It's an unusual situation and one that, seemingly, is gaining momentum in light of Barcelona's attempts to unsettle Thiago Silva, their preferred partner in defence with Gerrard Pique. 

The PSG captain is widely accepted as their top target but, with a reported €50 million budget already lavished on Neymar's various investors, the club will need to sell to raise the necessary funds and rumours of them signing another luxury player, in spite of their defensive weaknesses, should be considered speculative at best. 

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Comments

[Wheaties Eater]

You completely miss several important facts in your article. 1) That Thiago has a release clause that has recently been lowered to around £18 million due to his lack of playing time, so the President so not need to "sanction" a move. 2) that 18m is far less money than they'd need to pry Mata away from Chelsea. 3) Mata and Thiago are totally different players, so Mata would not "replace" Thiago. 4) Chelsea are also reportedly in the hunt for Thiago and could get him without losing Mata, for a relatively small fee.

So this article is kind of pointless crap clogging my interwebs with misinformation and old news. Thanks for that.