Spurs boss Harry Redknapp declared his interest in the Spain star on Saturday, but the 23-year-old would favour a move to the Gunners - or a stay at his current club

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By Ben HaywardSpain forward and Arsenal target Juan Mata is not interested in swapping Valencia for Tottenham can reveal.Spurs boss Harry Redknapp announced his interest in signing the 23-year-old after his side’s 3-2 friendly win at Brighton on Saturday, claiming chairman Daniel Levy was taking care of negotiations.The north London club had been linked with a €22 million move for the former Real Madrid youngster in order to beat rivals Arsenal to his signature, but Valencia have yet to receive an official offer for the prized player.“The chairman has been dealing with it,” Redknapp said of Spurs' interest.“Whether anything happens I wouldn't be sure, the chairman is the only person who has been dealing with those transfers.“He is a player we like, obviously, so do Arsenal, so do a few other clubs, but where it's all at I don't know.”But Redknapp will have a tough fight on his hands to persuade Mata to move to the blue-and-white half of north London.Valencia remain in a delicate economic situation [with debts of around €400 million], but the club have promised coach Unai Emery a competitive team for the coming campaign and Mata is a big part of those plans.Emery, president Manuel Llorente and sporting director Braulio Vazquez have all claimed the forward is not for sale, although the latter revealed on Thursday that alternative plans were in place should Mata be sold, saying: “We have a back-up plan in case he leaves. We have to be prepared if something happens.”Meanwhile, Mata himself has stated repeatedly that he is keen to stay at Mestalla.“I have never said I am not happy at Valencia,” he reiterated last week, having claimed earlier this summer, after winning the European Under-21 Championship with Spain: “I want to stay; my next trophy will be at Valencia.”Mata signed a new contract last summer and the buy-out clause was set at a massive €60 million.However, a gentleman’s agreement was reached for the player to leave for between €20m and €25m, although the player’s performances at the European Under-21 Championships mean Valencia are now asking for a sum closer to the latter amount.Spurs, currently, are the only club prepared to meet Valencia’s asking price, although no bids have yet been made – despite considerable interest in Mata.The player’s father and agent is in contact with several sides, though, and is said to have met representatives from Tottenham in London recently.But Spurs’ tight wage structure and lack of Champions League football make any possible deal difficult, with Mata only likely to leave Valencia to sign for one of Europe’s elite clubs.At the moment, he sees Valencia, one of Spain’s top teams and an established Champions League outfit [having finished third in each of the last two campaigns], as a superior side to Spurs, who dropped out of the top four last season following their first-ever qualification for European football’s premier club competition.Given a chance to further his career in the Premier League, then, Mata would almost certainly choose Arsenal over Tottenham, a source close to the player revealed to, while out of a straight selection between Spurs and Valencia, the player is likely to opt to stick with the Spanish side for at least one more season.