Juan Mata will not leave Chelsea despite persistent transfer rumours, says Blues boss Jose Mourinho.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has dismissed transfer rumours linking Juan Mata elsewhere, saying that the Blues star is still very much in his plans.
The question of Mata’s future arose because the Spain international was not selected for a single minute of the Blues’ 0-0 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford, despite scoring in all of the teams’ last three Premier League meetings.
However, Mourinho dismissed any talk of an exit from Stamford Bridge for Mata out of hand, stating that the 26 year-old was left out for both physical and tactical reasons.
“He is very important for me, for Chelsea,” Mourinho told the assembled press.
“The stories coming are nonsense stories, he goes nowhere and is very important for me.
“He had a very small pre-season after the Confederations Cup, during that small pre-season he was injured. He started training two days before we played the first Premier League match, and had a match last week against Aston Villa, a difficult one, and today I decided to put him on the bench.
“I played with De Bruyne on the right because I know De Bruyne will give complete control of Evra defensively. When Juan plays on the right he comes more inside.
“I don’t say the kid is more tactically disciplined but is more adapted to that situation. I wanted Oscar to play behind the striker so I decided not to play Juan… Minute 70, 75, I was feeling [it was] difficult to win, I don’t want to lose, so I made the changes to control the last few minutes of the game, but no chance Juan goes anywhere.”
COMMENTS