Benitez, who managed his Spanish compatriot at Chelsea last year, would like to take Mata on loan but Chelsea are unlikely to agree to such a request.
And Napoli’s view is that if Mata were available to be sold, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Paris St Germain would all be involved in the bidding — all of whom could out-spend Napoli.
Mata looks increasingly likely to stay at Stamford Bridge during the transfer window, though the player is said to fear for his World Cup place in Spain’s squad given his inability to command a consistent starting place in the first XI.
He has seemingly lost his place to Oscar under manager Jose Mourinho this season and reacted angrily to being substituted in the 3-0 victory over Southampton on New Year’s Day.
However, the player is likely to move on in the summer with Paris St Germain ready to pay ÂŁ30million.
Written by Steve Milne – Have your say below 🙂
