3) Competition for places:
Unarguably, Chelsea have a wealth of talent in the attacking midfield positions. No-one can argue that Hazard, Oscar, Schurrle, Willian and De Bruyne are not players of genuine European pedigree. So why does Mata automatically deserve a starting spot? Hazard should start as he has been Chelsea’s most destructive attacking force this term, and Willian will surely be given a proper chance following his mega money move. Oscar also arrived for £25m, and starts in the no.10 spot for Brazil. These are three brilliant players already competing for two attacking spots. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised Mata is having to work for game time?
4) Niggling injury:
Juan Mata has apparently been suffering with a minor injury throughout the summer, and perhaps his Portuguese boss has simply not wanted to aggravate it early on in the season, with Chelsea expecting to play a huge amount of fixtures.
Juan Mata said: “It was something new for me because I had never had these kind of problems, but I kept calm; it is still the beginning of the season. That’s why the first weeks of training were a bit tricky for me,” he wrote in his blog One Hour Behind.
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