Reports: Roma make shock £30 million bid to sign Manchester United star Juan Mata

What's the story?

Manchester United have been making all the moves in the transfer market trying to sign top players in this transfer window. But, it seems now that the Premier League giants face a battle on their hands to keep a star of their own.

According to reports in Corriere Dello Sport (via The Metro), Serie A giants Roma are ready to table a £30 million bid for Manchester United star Juan Mata. The Italian giants were heavily linked with a move for Riyad Mahrez, but the Algerian's wants to stay in the Premier League, and now the Italian side have turned their attentions towards the Spanish playmaker.

Mata has a year left on his contract (with an option to trigger another year) and it will be interesting to see if Jose Mourinho is ready to sanction the departure of the 29-year-old star this transfer window.

In case you didn't know...

Will Mata be sold by Mourinho again?

Mata has been an important member of the United squad, but it will come as no surprise if Mourinho does indeed green light his departure. The 'special one' has sold Mata before when he was at Chelsea and a £30 million fee could see Mata move to the Serie A.

Also, United have been heavily linked with a move for Croatian Ivan Perisic and the arrival of the Croatian winger might allow Roma to move in and complete the signing of 29-year-old Spanish international, Juan Mata.

The heart of the matter

Roma have been extremely keen on signing a tricky playmaker/winger for their side this transfer window. The Serie A side had made Mahrez their prime target, but the Algerian's insistence on staying in the Premier League have forced the Italians to turn towards Manchester United's Mata.

Mata still has the quality to dictate matches and it will prove to be one of the coups of the transfer window if the Serie A side do indeed manage to sign him for a fee of £30 million.

Video

Author's take

Juan Mata's passing. vision and skill on the ball will definitely be an asset to Roma, but even if Ivan Perisic does arrive it looks unlikely that Mourinho will sanction the sale of such an important player for a fee of just £30 million.