Boss: Everyone Appreciates Mata

David Moyes described Juan Mata as "a player that any football fan would admire" after officially unveiling the Spaniard as a Manchester United player.

The 25-year-old World Cup winner was voted Chelsea's Player of the Year for two consecutive seasons but his chances were limited under returning manager Jose Mourinho, prompting his club-record move to Old Trafford on Saturday.

Speaking to the media following a press conference at the Aon Training Complex on Monday, Moyes was delighted by his January acquisition and hailed the Spaniard's attitude to the game.

"He is a top player, he has proved it," Moyes said. "He is confident because of what he has done over recent seasons. I don't think there is any football fan who watches the Premier League who wouldn't have admired Juan Mata in recent seasons because of the goals he has scored and the goals he has made. Yes, he is confident. He has come to a club that is delighted to have him.

"I don't know him well enough yet to put words like great next to his name. Everybody who tells me about him says he is a great ambassador for football. He conducts himself very well. He is a smart, intelligent young man. From what we have seen he is all of that.

"He understands the club he is coming to. He is a Spanish international who wants to play to make sure he is in the World Cup squad. I think he can genuinely add something to what we have got. He can give us a different type of player to what we already have in the squad.

"He can play several positions and, undoubtedly if you look back over the last month or so when we have been without the likes of Wayne Rooney or Robin van Persie, what impact would he have had if we had him during this difficult period?"

When quizzed on where Mata will play for United, Moyes was reluctant to pinpoint a single position and instead pointed to the player's impressive versatility.

"I won't be surprised at what he can do for us," the boss told reporters. "He can play off the right, off the left, behind the striker. He will play any one of the three roles. We know that is what he does. He plays it in his own style.

"But he can play in any of those three positions. That is partly what we want. We want people who are flexible. We want people who can change within games as well. We don't want people to stick to one position. It will allow us to alter things if we feel we have to during games as well."