It’s an understatement to say that Juan Mata‘s tenure at Old Trafford has been less than successful. One of two David Moyes bust transfers at Manchester United (for the other, see Fellaini, Marouane), Mata has just never taken full advantage of his opportunities on the pitch since coming over from Chelsea last January.
Now, The Express are reporting that Mata could be making his way to Juventus and Serie A in a 20 million pound winter transfer move. Mata is clearly out of favour with current manager Louis van Gaal and could join former United forward and Japan international Shinji Kagawa, who returned to Dortmund this season, on his way out of town.
Were this move to happen, Mata would be on Juve manager Massimo Allegri’s squad to sit in behind Carlos Tevez. While we are on the topic of Mata, a move back to his former club, Valencia, is also a possibility.
‘Chicharito’ could be next
And while we are on the topic of Serie A and Juventus, it sounds like the Old Lady might have eyes for Mexican international Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, who scored a nice goal for his country against Honduras.
The Daily Star have it that Hernandez is a happy camper at Real Madrid — where he’s spending the season on loan from Manchester United — but plans for next season are already looming large for player and club.
Real Madrid have the option to keep Hernandez, who has two goals for los Blancos so far, but the move to Serie A is still in the picture because of Juventus’ desperate need to bolster their attack.
X-factor on the way Anfield?
The rumoured comings-and-goings of one Xherdan Shaqiri dotted the Transfer Talk pages regularly all summer, but on Sept. 1, Shaqiri was still locked up in a long-term deal with Bayern Munich.
The Swiss striker has languished on the bench so far this season with the Bundesliga champs, and now TalkSport says it’s possible Shaqiri could make a long-mooted move to join Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool.
At just 22, Shaqiri is clearly on the front end of a promising career, especially after impressing for country in Brazil at the World Cup. The speedster is a catalyst on offense, which is something a Liverpool side that lost Luis Suarez to Barcelona, and is playing without the injured Daniel Sturridge, could sorely use.
The earliest move would be the January window. The price tag is rumoured to be 55 million pounds.