Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has admitted that midfielder Juan Mata may be facing longer spells on the sidelines due to the fact he cannot pick ’12, 13 or 14 players’.
Despite being The Blues’ player of the season for the last two campaigns, Mata has fallen down the pecking order since Mourinho’s arrival, due to him wanting to play Oscar and Eden Hazard in the attacking positions, and due to the lack of first-team options, the Spanish international has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge.
Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid and Juventus are all monitoring Mata’s situation at Chelsea just in case he could become available.
The 25-year-old has only played eight times this season and Mourinho has warned the Spaniard that the lack of game-time may continue.
Mourinho told the London Evening Standard: “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 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.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles
