Football transfer rumours: Juan Mata to Valencia?

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/29/football-transfer-rumours

Version 0 of 1.

With Juan Mata no longer guaranteed a starting berth at Manchester United following the arrival of Ángel Di María, Ander Herrera and Radamel Falcao at Old Trafford, speculation linking him with a move to his old stomping ground of Valencia at some point during the next transfer window is quietly simmering on the hob of transfer chat. The Spanish club is currently the subject of a takeover by Singapore-based billionaire Peter Lim, who has previously attempted to buy Liverpool and more recently negotiated the purchase of a 50% share of another world famous club, the Evo-Stik Division One North club Salford City from Class of 92 members Ryan Giggs, Gary and Phil Neville, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes.

Any move for Mata, who left Valencia for Chelsea in 2011, will depend on Lim first reaching an agreement with pithily titled Spanish financial institution Bankia, who hold the club’s debt. A little over a week ago Lim instructed his representatives to postpone negotiations with the bank after growing frustrated by what he perceived to be their lack of co-operation. Having already invested significantly in Valencia, by bringing in players such as Álvaro Negredo, Rodrigo and André Gomes, it seems unlikely that Lim will give up on his plan to revive the grand old club just yet.

Ashley Young is another player who looks surplus to attacking requirements at Old Trafford, but ought to have no shortage of suitors in January. According to the Daily Express, Sunderland, Southampton and Young’s alma mater Aston Villa are all interested in signing the player, who is very much up for sale despite his United contract running until the summer of 2016. Meanwhile in the defensive ranks, United quite like the cut of Juventus centre-back Angelo Ogbonna’s jib. A left-footed stopper of Nigerian extraction who has nine senior appearances for Italy under his belt, the 26-year-old Ogbonna is a central defender by trade but can also line up at full-back if required. A price tag of £12m has been mentioned, but United may have to fend off interest from Arsenal, among other clubs who are monitoring the defender.

Good news for Chelsea fans, who’ll be delighted to hear that Eden Hazard has been telling French television station Canal+ that he isn’t interested in signing for Paris Saint-Germain, despite the French club’s apparent obsession with signing him up. Earlier this summer, Hazard opted to stay at Chelsea despite widespread speculation about his future and more recent comments suggest he’s happy with his decision to remain in London. “When I left Lille, I wanted to leave France, so I couldn’t have signed for PSG,” he said. “Every year I’m the priority of PSG. But I’m at Chelsea and this is where I want to grow. This is the most important. Never say never, but if I came back to Ligue 1, it would be with Lille, the team I support and I still love.”

Meanwhile on Merseyside, Brendan Rodgers is counting out £31m from the club change jar in the hope that it will be enough to convince Napoli to part with Gonzalo Higuaín, who has yet to score in five Serie A appearances this season. The Argentinian striker hasn’t completely lost his mojo, having bagged one goal in the Champions League against Sparta Prague, and it seems rumours of his unhappiness at Napoli may have been greatly exaggerated. “This is a fantastic city where to play soccer and, as in any place, where you win, everyone is happy, when you don’t, people overreact,” he said last week. “I chose to come here, Naples is a wonderful city.”

The city of Liverpool has no shortage of charms either and Raheem Sterling’s “people” will soon be preparing for talks with the club regarding a big fat contract extension that will keep their client on Merseyside. With Real Madrid believed to be sniffing around the young winger, they’ll have no shortage of leverage with which to bargain. Meanwhile at Goodison Park, the lesser-spotted Tony Hibbert, who kept Sterling in his pocket after making his first Everton start for 666 days on Saturday, will be all a tremble after hearing weekend rumours that José Mourinho hopes to spend £20m on an Everton right-back. Sadly, with Roman Abramovich likely to decide that Hibbert looks a wee bit too much like Vladimir Putin for his liking, Mourinho will almost certainly bid for Séamus Coleman instead.

And finally, Rumour Mill readers with a spare £100m knocking around might consider buying Aston Villa, now that the club’s owner Randy Lerner has slashed his original selling price by 50%.