Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata is reportedly considering his future at Old Trafford, due to a lack of playing time so far this season.
Juan Mata featured in just nine Premier League games last season for Manchester United. He has only played 62 minutes so far this season. Further, he didn’t make the Aston Villa match day squad at the weekend.
The 33-year-old is into the final year of his contract and could leave the Red Devils for free next summer. However, Manchester Evening News reports that the Spaniard is open to a move in January.
The report states that this season is almost certain to be Mata’s last at United. Reasons being, he is out of contract in June and turns 34 in April. There is also an understanding that he is open to a move in the January transfer window.
Mata would either be free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with an overseas club or leave for a fee next year.
Time up for Juan Mata at Manchester United?
Mata’s chances in the first team may now be reduced further following United’s elimination from the EFL Cup. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is likely to pick his strongest side to avoid defeat in the other competitions.
Additionally, things got worse for Mata this summer after the club made the additions of Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho. This is despite the fact that Solskjaer already had the likes of Anthony Martial, Mason Greenwood, Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford, and Edinson Cavani at his beckoning.
The midfielder has featured prominently but has never been able to nail down a starting spot in the line-up. Although Mata managed to rack up 18 appearances last season, most of them were off-the-bench as he got less than 900 minutes on the pitch.
Manchester United signed Mata from Chelsea for a then-club record £37.1 million in January 2014. He started in the 2016 FA Cup final victory, as well as the 2017 League Cup and Europa League final triumphs. Mata has made 274 appearances across all competitions for United, scoring 51 goals and providing 47 assists.
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