Transfer news: Juan Mata agent seeks assurances Chelsea player won't be sold during January window

Spaniard was Chelsea’s player of the year twice in a row before the return of Jose Mourinho

Juan Mata, second left, was Chelsea's player of the year twice in a row before the return of Jose Mourinho (Andy Rain/EPA)

Juan Mata’s advisers have sought assurances from Chelsea that Jose Mourinho is not planning to sell the Spain international this month after the player showed his frustration with his substitution in the victory over Southampton on Wednesday.

There was a conversation between the club and Mata’s agent in which the player was assured Mourinho does not want to sell the 25-year-old, the club’s player of the year for two consecutive seasons before the arrival of the current manager. Mata has been told that he is behind Oscar in the pecking order for the central playmaker role but also that there is no desire currently for him to leave.

When he was asked about Mata’s situation on Wednesday, Mourinho said: “I want to keep him. I don’t want him to go. That is my opinion, my wish, but my door is open.” It was that point which Mata wanted clarification on. However, there remains a strong long-term doubt over his future at the club with his position so radically downgraded under Mourinho.

The club sent Bertrand Traoré on loan to Vitesse Arnhem on Thursday, having yet to obtain a work permit for the player that would allow him to play in the Premier League.

The Burkina Faso international only turned 18 in September, the first point at which he could sign a professional deal, and is in the United Kingdom on a foreign student visa. There was concern at Chelsea that he could be poached following his stand-out performances on the club’s summer tour. Work permit applications will begin in the summer.

Kevin De Bruyne is the one first-team squad player who could be allowed to leave Chelsea on loan in January, with a number of interested clubs in Germany; a decision will be left until the end of the month. Sam Hutchinson and Gaël Kakuta have returned from loan spells at Vitesse and will be moved on to new clubs this month.