Unbelievable Mata muck

TRANSFER TALK

No wonder he is scratching his head, I am too.

We had another example of the garbage the British national press come out with, this time the Sunday People suggesting that Spanish side Espanyol are tracking Juan Mata and could sign him with the help of Chinese investment.

It is simply a story dreamt up by a reporter and it's news to Espanyol!

Most fans don't understand Financial Fair Play rules and how they affect expenditure, why should they, the football is all they generally care about. It doesn't matter if there has been investment in a club, there are still constraints on what you can spend.

Juan Mata has been linked with us, but he is too old, on too high a wages and doesn't have the work ethic that we need at Tottenham. Jose Mourinho got rid of him at Chelsea because he wouldn't do the defensive side of the game in the way he wished. He obviously won't retain him at Old Trafford. If he won't do the defensive side at Chelsea then he isn't a player we want at Tottenham either, despite any skill he may have going forward.

The story doesn't make any sense, Juan Mata would be looking for Champions League football given the clubs he has played for. Too many people simply overlook that that is what players want and they want that more than money. Not that Espanyol could afford Mata's wages, they can't, not without destroying their wages budget and getting themselves into difficulty with Financial Fair Play rules again.

Spanish sports daily, Sport, asked Espanyol Sporting Director Angel Gomez about the story and he said it was 'unfeasible' and that they hadn't 'taken any steps'.