Poor mans Modric??

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Both are very talented footballers with a lot of technical ability, a low centre of gravity and an eye for a pass. Despite this, they are completely different types of players. Modric plays in a midfield two next to a more defensive partner and his job is to retain possession and release the ball to someone in a more attacking position. Mata plays in a similar role to David Silva IMO, as a false winger who cuts in on the edge of the box and slips through balls through to the strikers.

Furthermore, Mata plays for Chelsea, whose owner Roman Abramovic is richer than Tottenham's owner Daniel Levy. Therefore, Mata cannot be a poor man's Modric as he is 'owned' by a richer man.

Considering the carp he's had around him, Mata has been extraordinary. It's not coincidence that in almost every game we've flattered to decieve in this season, Mata went missing. His impact as merely a utility attacking player has fully exposed our disturbing lack of creativity. There's a reason Arsene turned a blind eye to him at 20mil, it's because he isn't a Fabregas or a Silva, he theorically needs creativity surrounding him to flourish.

He's a fantastic point to start from, but we need to build on him next summer. And Modric would be a fantastic start.

I'd prefer to move on from Modric. We spent the whole of the last window attempting to get him and that just left us with Meireles

We need wingers with the ability to track back.

Valencia would have been perfect.

Both are not a patch on cesc

Could Mata do a job in a 3-man midfield? And get someone like Lavezzi to take the left of the attack?

I don't watch Chelsea nearly as often as you do, but from what I've seen I think this might work.

Whist need good players out wide IMO

MyNani I doubt it, he can't tackle and doesn't track back much

Fair enough, I just thought he might be able with two slightly more defensive CMs next to him, who try to play possession football, with Mata providing the midfield creativity.