Manchester United legend Paul Scholes is a big fan of Juan Mata.

Scholes says United have signed English football's top performer in recent times.

"For the last couple of years Mata has probably been the best player in the league," Scholes told MUTV and ManUtd.com. "We had to pay a lot of money for him and we were very lucky that he wasn't in Chelsea's plans, and only we can benefit from him now.

"Hopefully he can have a strong end to the season and he can help us climb the table."