Five Cantonas

Click Manchester have today revealed that we have joined the race for Valencia winger Juan Mata, along with Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal. Liverpool’s capture of Stuart Downing is thought to have ended their interest.

I don’t buy this one. We don’t need wingers – we have an embarrasment of riches in that position. We’re going to sign a midfielder and one more defender this summer and that will be it, unless some serious value in the market rears it’s head without warning.

We’ve just spent an awful lot of money on Ashley Young, who fills the position preferred by Mata, and the two players are remarkably similar in what they bring to the team. Mata would cost about £30m, money that we simply won’t have once we address our needs, but would hold resale value as he is only in his early twenties.

At least it’s a breath of fresh air given the suffocating level of press that the Wesley Sneijder deal is getting. Every single press outlet or blog on the whole internet seems to have some sort of “exclusive” on the deal right now, and it’s getting annoying. We all know that United have sounded out a deal for Wesley. We all know that Fergie is denying it in public to avoid a bidding war and that Inter are denying it in public to keep their fans happy. We know it will be about £35m and £200k per week.

If you can expand on these facts for us, then brilliant, go right ahead. But if all you’re doing is regurgitating the things outline above or, more laughably, “reporting our interest in the player”, then please do us all a favour and stop writing on the internet.

Thanks.