Andres Villas Boars is known to be a huge fan of Chelsea midfielder but admits that the Blues would never sell the Spanish international to Tottenham.
Speculation over Mata’s future is rife following the arrival of Brazilian Willian and the fact that the Spaniard did not feature in Chelsea’s game Monday night at Old Trafford.
Regarding Mata, Villas-Boas said: “Mata is a great player – player of the season last season, a very important player for Chelsea.
“But Chelsea wouldn’t sell to Tottenham in any way, as they think we are title contenders.
“They’re just not going to strengthen another team that, in their opinion, are rivals for the title.”
