Mata bound for Chelsea: Spanish media

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Mata bound for Chelsea: Spanish media

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Valencia winger Juan Mata will soon put pen to paper on a transfer to Chelsea.

20 August,2011 10:31 am

Mata will play for Chelsea, said the As newspaper on its Internet edition which claimed the Londoners will pay 30 million euros.Matas departure is imminent, added Marca. The club will accept an offer of between 27 and 28 million euros which will allow him to play in the Premier League.Mata has long been tipped to leave Valencia, but Arsenal and Tottenham were thought to be his main pursuers.Lawyers are finalising details on the deal, which is expected to be definitively closed on Saturday. The Chelsea manager had admitted this week: We might just add a number in midfield.The 23-year-old, who has studied at university and speaks reasonable English, has long been open to a move to the Premier League. His father and agent, also Juan Manuel Mata, had spoken to a number of clubs in England. Matas initial preference was to secure a move to Barcelona but he was in no hurry to depart Valencia. The signings of Alexis Sánchez and Cesc Fábregas by Barcelona finally ended any possibility of a transfer to the Camp Nou.Mata had already turned down the opportunity to join Tottenham Hotspur at the end of July. Tottenham sought to take advantage of a clause in Matas contract that allowed him to leave the club before 31 July for a set fee of €25m: had Valencia unilaterally blocked a move at that stage, they would have been forced to increase Matas salary. The player, though, did not want to move to Spurs.Liverpool had previously shown an interest in the player but opted in the end to buy Stewart Downing from Aston Villa, with Kenny Dalglish putting a premium on players with Premier League experience. Despite showing an interest and although Matas camp was open to the idea of a move to the Emirates, Arsenal failed to make a formal bid during that window of opportunity in July. Now Chelsea have done so.