Andre Villas-Boas says Spurs enquired about Juan Mata last month.
Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas has admitted the club made an enquiry about Chelsea’s Juan Mata this summer.
Mata, 25, was linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge in the final days of the transfer window after featuring just once in the Blues’ first three matches of the season.
Villas-Boas signed Mata during his spell in charge of Chelsea and the Spanish playmaker has previously spoken of his admiration for the Portuguese tactician.
Arsenal, Liverpool and Atletico Madrid were all linked with a move for the Spain international and Villas-Boas has revealed Spurs made a ‘simple enquiry’ for the playmaker.
“When top players become available, when their situation changes at a club, and particularly for a player like Juan Mata, you enquire about the situation, but nothing went further than a simple enquiry,” Villas-Boas told a press conference ahead of Chelsea’s visit to White Hart Lane on Saturday.
Mata has started just three games under Jose Mourinho this term and was left out of the squad entirely for last weekend’s 2-0 win over Fulham, with Mourinho claiming the club’s two-time player of the year must learn to ‘track back’.
The former Valencia star is again likely to miss out of a spot in the starting line-up for the crunch clash at Spurs, despite scoring twice in this fixture last season.
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