Metro has been running the rule over the leading contenders for the PFA Player of the Year award. The silverware gets handed out on April 28th, and Hannah Duncan is convinced Juan Mata will be the man holding it. Here’s why.
You can keep your Luis Suarezs and your Robin van Persies, there’s only one man for this season’s Player of the Year award and that’s Chelsea’s little magician, Juan Mata.
The Spaniard (no surprises there!) enjoyed a fantastic first season in the Premier League last term, taking away Chelsea’s Player of the Year award as well as the FA Cup and Champions League titles. But this season, Mata has somehow stepped up to a new level.
The stand-out man at Stamford Bridge
Despite playing in a side also boasting tricky midfielders Eden Hazard and Oscar, Mata has been by far the stand-out player in the role this term.
His touch, vision, range of passing, trickery and ability in front of goal are all exemplary and he is an absolute pleasure to watch.
Goals galore (and a few assists too)
Mata has had a hand in 42 goals this season, scoring 18 and assisting 24 others, with only the highly acclaimed figures of Lionel Messi (67) Cristiano Ronaldo (49) racking up more across Europe’s top five leagues. The Chelsea man also has by far the most goals and assists of the stars in the lauded Spanish national team.
During Chelsea’s 2-0 win over West Ham before the international break, Mata also became the first player to both score and assist 10 goals in the Premier League this season.
Influence
Juan Mata has been left out of the starting line-up for just nine of Chelsea’s matches this term – with the Blues going on to win just one of those. And even then, that was against Premier League strugglers Wigan at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea leading just 2-1 before Mata’s introduction, but going on to win 4-1.
Defeats to QPR, West Brom and Steaua Bucharest have come without Mata in the side, as well as draws with QPR, Swansea, Fulham, Juventus and Brentford.
The second-coming of a Chelsea God
It takes some player to be mentioned in the same breath as Gianfranco Zola among Chelsea fans, but Mata has reached that lofty status.
Both on and off the pitch, everything about the little Spaniard is reminiscent of the little Italian. From his first touch to his diminutive stature, Mata is every bit the 21st Century Zola and for Chelsea fans, that is praise indeed.
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