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Juventus and Napoli ready to battle Spurs in bid to offer Juan Mata Chelsea exit route
TOTTENHAM will make another attempt to sign Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata in January, but will be rivalled by Italian clubs Juventus and Napoli.
Reports in Portugal suggest that Tottenham have not abandoned hope of bringing Mata to White Hart Lane after chasing him during the summer transfer window, even after Christian Eriksen impressed on his debut against Norwich.
Mata was again on the bench for Chelsea's shock 2-1 defeat to Basel this evening with Blues fans' frustrations at Jose Mourinho's continued omission of the Spanish star matched only by Manchester United fans' similar concerns about Shinji Kagawa.
Mata has repeatedly stressed that he wants to stay at Chelsea and fight for his place at Stamford Bridge.
But with the 25-year-old's hopes of playing an important role for Spain at next summer's World Cup seemingly fading, Mata may be willing to reconsider his position and push for a move in January.
And according to Portugese paper Record, Spurs will be more than willing to oblige in offering Mata a new home.
However, Andre Villas-Boas will face competition for Serie A duo Juventus and Napoli, with Rafa Benitez thought to be keen on being reunited with a player he worked with last season at Chelsea.
If true, Mata's arrival at Tottenham could spell the end of Lewis Holtby's time at the club, with the German already seemingly having fallen behind Eriksen, Gylfi Sigurdsson and the injured Etienne Capoue at White Hart Lane.