Robson: Mata's Top Class

Manchester United legend Bryan Robson puts his seal of approval on the Reds' record new deal to bring Juan Mata to Old Trafford...

Juan Mata is a top-class player. His stats prove that. He's a good goalscorer, he creates chances for other people and always works very hard, especially when his team are on the ball. He always seems to try to move around and get on the ball. He looks a really good signing.

The intelligent way he plays will really suit the likes of Wayne Rooney, Shinji Kagawa and Robin van Persie. The way he can score goals, create goals and the understanding he can have with the forwards and midfielders at United is very exciting. He's a player who looks for forward passes and bringing people into the game – he could have a big influence on us. And at 25, he's a good age and I'm sure we'll have some really good years out of him.

The initial impact of his arrival is going to be important. It would be great to see him involved against Cardiff and if he's in the team hopefully we'll get a really good performance – from the team and from him. He can raise people around him. But you can't just rely on Mata – it's not a case of just him. He's a great player but the lads in the squad have got to get the best out of themselves. Everyone has to hold their hands up and say they've underperformed this season. It's up to them to look at each other as individuals and say, 'there is a lot better to come from me and I owe it to the club.'

For Juan, it helps that he is friends with David De Gea. If you've got a team-mate from the international stage within a club it's far easier to settle and you feel welcome. That's good that the two of them know each other – it will help. Ultimately, this is a really good signing for United. In the last two or three years we haven't gone out and paid fortunes for a player and people have said we haven't got the money to do it. I've always been informed that the club have got the money if the manager wants to buy really big. In this case United have proved they have it if it's really needed.