The Blues must do everything they can to hold on to their Spanish midfield maestro, or risk removing themselves from the Premier League title race and handing title fight rights to their two Manchester rivals on a platter.
Speculation has been rife over the last 48 hours and both Chelsea and Manchester United have confirmed the rumour to be true that United have in fact enquired about Mata’s services.
The enquiry comes during a transfer window where Chelsea has been quite public about their chase over Manchester United star Wayne Rooney.
Although it has been widely thought, it has not been confirmed whether there is any possibility of a Rooney-Mata swap deal between the two English Premiership giants.
However the Blues can simply not afford to sell Mata, not financially of course, they are well covered there as we all know.
It is purely from a playmaking perspective that Chelsea may not realise how much they would suffer without their number 10.
For instance, Mata had 28 assists in all competitions in the 2012/13 season whereas Eden Hazard and Oscar managed 29 between them.
Considering Chelsea used these three attacking midfielders in the majority of their matches, the fact that one of them contributed 50% of the assists is an amazing feat and a sign of a standout player.
Mata has also been Chelsea’s player of the season during the past two campaigns therefore it would make no sense to sell such a high calibre player capable of consistent performances over a long and arduous season.
Although it is reported returning Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho may not view Mata as overly essential if it means landing other primary targets, it is understood the former Valencia man is one of owner Roman Abramovich’s favourite player’s and as we have seen in the past, Chelsea’s Russian owner has a nice little knack of getting his way.
Former Chelsea and now Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas brought Mata to Chelsea in the summer transfer window of 2011 for a reported £23.5million fee.
Mata then signed a five-year deal meaning he still has three years to run on his current agreement.
Wayne Rooney only has two years left and while the extra contractual year may not seem a lot to the regular fan, it can be a big factor in player valuations and what a realistic offer for a player can be.
Further evidence of Mata’s value can be seen as he had a hand in 24 goals for Chelsea over 31 starts and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Gareth Bale hand a hand in 25 Tottenham goals for the Spurs from 34 starts.
It is widely speculated and believed Bale will complete a €93million transfer to Real Madrid before the end of the transfer window.
Mata created a chance every 29.24 minutes he was on the pitch for Chelsea in the 2012/2013 English Premiership season, the best efficiency in the league in front of Leighton Baines every 29.47minutes, Luis Suarez every 32.83minutes and Santi Cazorla every 32.88minutes.
On this evidence it is no secret how essential Juan Mata is to Chelsea’s hopes for trophies this season, however Jose Mourinho himself could be tempted to listen to offers if it were to mean he claimed long term target Wayne Rooney.
Manchester United failed earlier in the transfer window in their pursuit of Barcelona midfielder and Mata’s Spanish teammate Cesc Fabregas after reportedly having a final bid of £35million rejected.
If they were to attempt to land Mata it would surely take a bid of the same amount if not more to make Chelsea and owner Abramovich at least blink before rejecting the offer.
Adding further fire to this story is reports linking Chelsea to a £32million move for Tottenham target Willian, who is looking to secure a quick move to England from Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk.
However even though new Manchester United manager David Moyes might pleasantly be eyeing off the prospect of a swoop for Mata in light of this situation, Chelsea would be crazy to sell or swap their star player no matter what kind of deal was offered to the club.
If Chelsea remains smart through this speculation by rejecting all potential offers, the influential playmaker will be staying at the Bridge for the time being.
With three years remaining on his current deal and looking to hit peak form in a World Cup year, there is no reason why Mata can’t be Chelsea’s player of the season for a third straight campaign and a star of the club long into the future.
Steven McBain
Roar Guru
I'm a Chelsea season ticket holder (although living in Singapore) and I'd agree with that 100%. This Willian transfer is a bit bizarre to me unless another of those type of players that Chelsea have in abundance is going, you simply can't keep them all happy otherwise. Mourinho has stated he rates Oscar and Hazard. De Bruyne will get a certain amount of game time and so will Schurrle. Moses is a bit part player and not really part of the equation for me. That leads us to Mata who didn't play at the weekend and was hauled off in midweek with Mourinho apparently very frustrated. The story about him 'not fancying' Mata has clearly come from somewhere. IF it is a part of a swap deal for me then there is some logic to what they are doing in terms of positions in the team but I think it is huge step in the wrong direction, I don't want Rooney full stop, we've seen the best of him. Mata is not always as aesthetically pleasing as the others but the numbers as you so rightly point out don't lie, he is absolutely vital. Mourinho is of course notoriously particular about certain players - Robben was jettisoned quickly as an example - and if that is the case with Mata then there may be no way back. I would find it bizarre however that they would sell to ManYoo if they will not countenance selling Rooney to Chelsea. I have to say the prospect of Mata playing just off RVP is a worrying one for a Chelsea fan. Mata is tried and tested top class Premiership pedigree and whilst Willian is a clear talent, not all South Americans settle in quickly or well, it's a huge risk for no real financial gain which is would why the Rooney tie in would make sense at least given that Mourinho is so bullish on him. It could however simply be a case of Abramovich interfering again given the links to Russia and Mourinho simply having to play along with things more now but I'm not sure. We'll have to see how it plays out but I'm with you, am not happy...........