Tottenham Hotspur have tabled a £22 million bid for Valencia’s left wing starlet Juan Mata. Should the diminutive winger for some reason choose Tottenham over Arsenal, what would this mean for Gareth Bale? And what would Mata bring to the north London club?
Finally, Tottenham have dared to do something. This bid is the first exciting move that Spurs have made in this transfer window. Not only does chasing Mata signal the ambition of the club. The attempt to hijack Arsenal’s pursuit of the player adds spice to the offer.
Juan Mata is a player with a growing reputation and no doubt a growing price tag. He was an outstanding performer for Spain at the European Under 21 Championships this summer and has cemented himself a first team slot in the Valencia side after three very impressive seasons there. Last season he provided 12 assists and scored 8 goals in La Liga, he is quick and creative with an eye for goal. He is small, only 2 inches taller than Aaron Lennon, but does not shirk from the physical side of the game and should be perfectly capable of playing on a cold night at the Britannia stadium. It is easy to see how he could cause problems and sharpen Spur’s attack.
Redknapp has consistently talked of his intentions to push Gareth Bale deeper, into the left back position and Tottenham’s interest in Mata suggests that Redknapp could be ready to make that step. When the Welshman’s terrific vein of form last season catapulted him into the limelight, the Spurs manager astutely noted that Bale’s successes came when running from deep and using his pace and stride and overall speed over distance to rip apart defences. When his concentration improved, Redknapp said, he could be pushed back and then he could get a really good head of steam up.
With Bale charging past Mata on the overlap the potential for goals from the left hand side would be greatly increased, although defensively Bale is definitely not the finished article. As a combination though, it could work. Mata likes to cut inside, vacating the space for Bale to surge into and both are more than capable of scoring goals whilst Mata’s record for providing was second only to Barcelona’s Xavi Hernandez last season.
Even though the likelihood is that Mata will choose Arsenal over Spurs, does Tottenham’s bid indicate that Redknapp is willing to make the tactical leap of pushing Bale back to left back? It would be a progressive and attacking decision irrespective of who plays in front of him.
Where would you play Bale and could VDV be a success on the left of midfield? http://twitter.com/#!/philipwroe
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