OPINION: Do you think Juan Mata would have made a difference?

Now there's a question for you Chelsea fans! Do you think that Juan Mata (if still at Chelsea) would have made a difference to our title challenge this season?

Now before you answer, there are plenty of things to consider and it's important that you do before you post ALL your comments on here (Would be good to hear from as many of you as possible!).

We have to remember that Juan Mata had not featured anywhere near as much as he had in the two previous seasons at the club.

Up to the point Mata was sold to Manchester United, he had made only 13 appearances in the Premier League, two in the League Cup and two in European Competition with the UEFA Super Cup included.

After his famous reaction at Southampton when substituted, you have to think that he would have been used sparingly by the manager.

With the likes of Oscar, Willian and at times Eden Hazard, I personally could only have seen Mata introduced from the bench because of his work rate defensively (especially compared to that of Oscar and Willian).

We also have to consider how Chelsea used the money from selling Mata and especially the signing of Nemanja Matic. Let's not forget that we also signed Mohamed Salah with that money but everything looks geared towards next season for our Egyptian. As for Matic, he has been immense on the whole and has come back to Stamford Bridge looking almost like the finished article.

We only have to look at our performances against Manchester City away and more recently Anfield where the manager looked to keep things tight at the back, to hit our opponents on the counter attack and Matic played a huge part in those victories.

Do you think we would have beaten Manchester City and Liverpool away if we had kept hold of Mata and had not re-signed Matic? Once again before you answer, think of just how much Mata hadn't featured. Do you believe Mourinho would have started him in both?

I love Juan Mata as a player and as a person. All he wanted to do was play football and do that for Chelsea. No one wanted to see him leave the club but sometimes these things happen.

I personally feel that it was the right decision to sell Mata going forward. It became obvious that the manager didn't fancy him and I just cannot see him playing that much of an influence in our title challenge if he had stayed here.

Before you say anything, I know it sounds ridiculous to say that bearing in mind Juan Mata was named our player of the season for two years running but we have to look at the bigger picture.

Some people will be of the opinion that in those games against West Brom, West Ham, Aston Villa, Sunderland and Norwich, Mata could have opened the door against those packed defences. I am not so sure.

I can see what Jose Mourinho is starting to do here and it's for the long term. You think about Chelsea's previous ten years of success and you think of the core, the spine and the basis of a team that lasted the test of time and still produced trophies, winning everything.

With the changing times here now and players such as Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and John Terry at the end of their careers, Mourinho is looking for players to replace them for the next 5-10 years. Nemanja Matic will be one of them. Unfortunately, Juan Mata it was decided, was not.

One final thing to consider is the real emergence of Eden Hazard this season. Hazard has taken the mantle of being our most dangerous player and had his best season having just won the Player of the Year award. Do you think Hazard's influence would have been the same with Mata still here?

I've had my say, now it's time for you guys to have yours and I would like to hear from as many people as possible on this because I can imagine these conversations have been held by Chelsea fans all over the world.

Do YOU think Juan Mata would have made a difference to Chelsea's title challenge this season?