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There has speculation about the future of Juan Mata almost since the day he walked through the door at Manchester United.

A mild-mannered chap and a skillful technician, but there is a lingering sense that he doesn’t quite fit in comfortably to any particular role in the side.

Whenever we talk about him, the general response that we get from the Manchester United faithful is that they want the utterly charming Spaniard to stay at the club. There is an overwhelming sense of bonhomie towards the player and the fans seem to love the little dude.

Obviously injuries play a big part in team selection these days. It’s a squad game and the deepest squad regularly wins the silverware. But when it comes down to the nitty gritty of picking a strongest XI Mata is often left on the sidelines.

So we ask you, the studied United faithful, whether Mata makes your XI.

With everyone fit would you have the diminuitive Iberian in your strongest Manchester United side? Many believe that Mata can only operate successfully at number 10. He doesn’t appear to have the pace or the athleticism to play in a wider role and neither David Moyes or LvG have ever tried to deploy him in a deeper midfield position.

In our view, he could be squeezed in to a 3-5-2 with Rooney, Falcao, RvP and Di Maria also playing. Or you could put him in the hole with Rooney on the right of LvG’s midfield diamond, with Herrera missing out. But this may well negate the huge talents and goal threat of Wazza.

It’s a conundrum which might well end with a transfer. Mata is surely too good and too costly to sit on the bench long-term. But we want to hear from you.

Let’s have your strongest XIs to see how many of you would start with the deliciously modest Mata.