Italian champions Juventus are reportedly lining up a January move for Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata.
Mata joined the Red Devils from Chelsea in January this year in a £37.1 million deal and has scored seven goals in 18 appearances.
He has made 34 appearances for his country and was part of the squad which won the 2010 World Cup and 2012 Euros. He has scored 10 goals for Spain.
However, Mata will find it difficult to hold on to his place at Manchester United after the attacking transfer influx of Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao this summer.
Additionally, Ander Herrera is another option in the midfield along with the defensive midfielder Daley Blind, who has already played under the same 3-5-2 formation for Netherlands under manager Louis Van Gaal.
There are many attacking players in Manchester United along with Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney, therefore it might not be easy for the Spanish player to be on Van Gaal's favourite list.
With Van Persie and Falcao upfront, captain Rooney is set to play in the hole behind them -- Mata's preferred position.
Juventus are keen on the Spain international, according to the Daily Mirror, and if Mata fails to force himself into the starting lineup on a regular basis they will consider a move.
It remains to be seen what formation Van Gaal will use following the arrival of Falcao, with United legend Paul Scholes recently suggesting it would not be possible to play all three of United's strikers -- Falcao, Van Persie and Rooney in the same team.
"Falcao creates competition in United's forward line," Scholes wrote in his column for the Independent. "There is no way that Van Gaal can play Rooney, Van Persie and Falcao together. It will have to be two from three and which two it is hard to say as yet."
If that does turn out to be the case, Mata just might be able to stay in the starting lineup, as long as Van Gaal keeps Di Maria in a deeper midfield role. However, the Spaniard has been quite anonymous in most of United's games so far this season, and the performances will certainly need to improve for him to play regularly.
