Mata 10/1 for award

Juan Mata is 10/1 in Sky Bet's Man Utd Specials market to net the league Player of the Month award.

The club-record signing has caused much hysteria around Old Trafford following the completion of a £37.1million transfer from Chelsea on Saturday, and is tipped for great things with the reigning Premier League champions. With Mata likely to be a key component of whether the Red Devils can muster any improvement, Sky Bet have priced him at 10/1 to be crowned Premier League Player of the Month in any month for the remainder of the campaign. Also, there are several debut specials available for punters for when the Spaniard does make his United bow. He is 5/2 to score on his debut, 25/1 to bag a brace, and 250/1 to get the Old Trafford faithful jumping for joy by netting a hat-trick. That debut could well come in Tuesday's clash with Cardiff, grabbing much of the limelight away from returning fan-favourite Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. However, the new Cardiff boss will be hoping his defence can shut out the eager-to-impress Spaniard, but will be up against it having conceded two or more goals in each of their previous six league outings. After spending much of 2013/14 on the periphery of the Chelsea squad, Mata could well reinvigorate the Red Devils' faltering season straight away. He is 13/8 to net over 1.5 goals in the next five league games. A top-four finish now seems more plausible after the arrival of the former Valencia attacking midfielder, with Sky Bet now offering odds of 5/2 for the Red Devils to qualify for next season's Champions League. And for those punters who firmly believe Mata can rejuvenate United, David Moyes' men are 12/1 to be crowned Premier League OR Champions League winners.