Mourinho casts fresh doubt over Arsenal and Man United's 40m pound target

Juan Mata

The Chelsea future of Juan Mata is looking bleak as manager Jose Mourinho has admitted he is struggling to fit him in anywhere.

Mata has started just eight of Chelsea’s 19 matches this season and has been left out of the side since the 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United at the start of November and according to reports he is a £40m target for both Manchester United and Arsenal, among others.

The 25-year-old has won the Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup with the club as well as being awarded Chelsea’s Player of the Year twice but has struggled to claim a place in Mourinho’s starting 11 as the Portuguese favours Oscar and Eden Hazard.

With the World Cup just around the corner, Mata will be looking for first team football to grab a place on the Spanish flight to Brazil. Paris-Saint Germain and Atletico Madrid have been linked so a move away from Stamford Bridge in January may be likely.

Mourinho has said that Mata’s playing time may not improve in the near future, telling reporters: “There is one thing that is obvious, which is I can’t change the rules and I can’t start the match with 12, 13 or 14. I’d love that because many people deserve to play and Juan is one who deserves to play because of the way he works, behaves, the way we see him every day.

“But if I play him and I don’t play [Eden] Hazard or Oscar, you are asking me about Hazard or Oscar in this moment.

“It’s a consequence of the squad we have where, for these three positions behind the striker, we have so many options.

“It’s hard for me. I don’t have a special pleasure leaving players out. I enjoy playing them and making them happy, but there’s nothing I can do.”

Mata is expected to be named on the bench once again for Chelsea’s Champions League group game against Basel this evening.

Chelsea need just a draw to advance to the knockout stages and a victory in Switzerland will guarantee top spot in Group E.

Despite only playing seven Premier League games, Mata has created 15 chances for Chelsea, the third-most at the club.

Mata’s chance creation is as good as ever, despite his lack of playing time