Gary Neville wants Juan Mata in the No. 10 role

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville believes that record signing Juan Mata needs to play in his preferred number 10 role behind the striker for the Red Devils, according to Monday Night Football. While he also explained how Shinji Kagawa and the Spaniard have given Man Untied hope.

The Spaniard has often been deployed on the right flank by manager David Moyes since his arrival from Chelsea in January, but produced the best performance of his United career during the 4-0 rout of Newcastle at the weekend in a central role.

The 25-year-old put in a Man of the Match display with two well taken goals, the first of which was a sensational free-kick, and an assist.

There has been much speculation as to what United’s best team will be when they have a fully fit squad, with talismanic striker Wayne Rooney also excelling in a similar position that Mata wants to fulfil, but Neville is adamant Mata’s preferred role is the only place the Spaniard should play.

“That’s where he needs to play. I don’t think he can play in the wide areas. United rely upon pace in wide areas.

“I think to play in wide areas you will see people get exposed. We saw it with [Santi] Cazorla against Everton. It becomes a real struggle in the top games.

“He’s obviously better off the front, he can affect the game, we talk about [Christian] Eriksen, very similar, these players need to be in more central areas. They need to be free.

“With [Shinji] Kagawa running past him, linking with him, it’s shown a little bit of a glimmer of hope in United’s season,” Neville insisted.

Pushing Mata out wide appears to take so much away from his game as he undoubtedly at his best when he can dictate the team’s rhythm and patterns of passing from the front due to his sublime technical skill.

However, with Rooney carrying so much clout at United, Moyes will struggle to accommodate both men in his starting XI.

Juan Mata is Manchester United’s top scoring midfielder this season with three.