LONDON -- Juan Mata is edging closer to joining Manchester United from Chelsea as the Premier League champions try to strengthen their squad after a lacklustre first half of the season. In a sign that Matas Chelsea departure is nearing, a person familiar with the situation said the midfielder did not train with the first team on Wednesday. United said it is yet to make a formal bid for Mata, but another person with knowledge of the situation said the club is pursuing the Spaniard in the January transfer window. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the transfer is not being discussed publicly. According to Britains Press Association, United has lodged a 40 million-pound ($66-million) bid through a third party. United and its manager, David Moyes, would not take questions on Mata in the post-match news conference after the teams League Cup semifinal defeat to Sunderland later Wednesday. The 25-year-old Mata, Chelseas player of the year for the last two seasons, has fallen out of favour since Jose Mourinho returned as manager in June. He has not played for the team since the Jan. 1 victory against Southampton. Chelsea pulled further away from United in the Premier League title race by beating Moyes side 3-1 on Sunday. While Chelsea is third, just two points from the summit, United is seventh, 14 points behind leader Arsenal. Moyes accepts there is a need to reinforce the squad, with Champions League qualification, by finishing in the top four, far from certain. "I fully understand that supporters are keen to see us freshen up the squad with new faces, but January is a difficult month in which to bring people in," Moyes said in Wednesdays program for the League Cup semifinal against Sunderland. "While we are actively scouting players all the time, a lot of the work we are doing now is preparation for the summer. "If we can do any business now then we will certainly try to do it, but I will not compromise the standards required for a player that can come into this club and help improve it." Selling Mata to United could indicate that Chelsea does not see the 20-time English champions as a major rival this season. United has lost four out of five games at the start of 2014, and was seeking to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Sunderland on Wednesday night to reach the League Cup final. "We all know that our club is undergoing changes at present, but I have a clear path in my mind and I know where we are going," Moyes said in Wednesdays program. Mata would not be eligible to play for United in the Champions League because he has played in the group stage for Chelsea. Hydro Flask Schweiz . The alleged sexual assault is believed to have happened over the weekend of Feb. 1, when the hockey team was in Thunder Bay for two games against Lakehead University. The criminal investigation branch of the Thunder Bay Police Service is leading the investigation with help from Ottawa police. Swell Flaschen Schweiz . Messis 75th-minute goal answered some of the criticism the clubs all-time leading scorer had received for his lacklustre performances in the teams recent losses in the league, Champions League and Copa del Rey final. http://www.swellflascheschweiz.ch/hydro-...er-schweiz.html. Fognini won 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 after Argentinas Carlos Berlocq had beaten Andreas Seppi 4-6, 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 on the outdoor clay surface. Doubles are set for Saturday with reverse singles on Sunday to decide which team reaches the quarterfinals. Swell Flasche Marmor . The midfielder had an operation on Saturday, and is set to miss seven Premier League games, the third round of the FA Cup and the semifinals of the League Cup. Swell Schweiz .Cullen scored the go-ahead goal at 13:47 of the third period and Nashville beat the slumping Dallas Stars 3-2 on Thursday in a game that wasnt decided until the last shot of the night.RED DEER, Alta. - Henrik Samuelsson and Curtis Lazar each had two goals and two assists as the Edmonton Oil Kings secured top spot in the Eastern Conference by defeating the host Red Deer Rebels 7-4 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action. Cody Corbett scored once and set up three more for the Oil Kings (50-18-3) while Edgars Kulda and Mitchell Moroz added single goals. Haydn Fleury, Rhyse Dieno, Vukie Mpofu and Aspen Sterzer scored for the Rebels (34-32-5), who sit ninth in the East two points behind Prince Albert for the final playoff position. Edmontons Tristan Jarry made 26 saves for his league-leading 44th win of the season. Red Deers Patrik Bartosak stopped 35-of-42 shots in a losing cause. The Oil Kings went 5 for 8 on the power play while the Rebels failed to score on five chances with the man advantage. --- WHEAT KINGS 6 PATS 3 BRANDON -- Peter Quenneville scored three times and Jordan Papirny made 35 saves as the Wheat Kings doubled up Regina to clinch the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. Ryan Pulock, Nolan Patrick and Jens Meilleur also scored for Brandon (34-29-9) while Tim McGauley tacked on three assists. Dmitry Sinitsyn, Boston Leier and Connor Gay supplied the scoring for the Pats (39-26-7). Reginas Dawson MacAuley and Tyler Fuhr combined to stop 26-of-31 shots in a losing cause. --- HITMEN 6 ICE 3 CALGARY -- Greg Chase had two goals and two assists as the Hitmen downed Kootenay for its fourth win in a row. Mike Winther and Pavel Padakin each had a goal and two assists for Calgary (48-17-7) and Jake Virtanen and Ben Thomas added single goals. Luke Philp, Jaedon Descheneau and Austin Vettrl scored for the Ice (39-28-5), who are on a four-game slide. Chris Driedger made 26 saves for the Hitmen. Kootenays Mackenzie Skapski stopped 8-of-12 shots before giving way to Wyatt Hoflin, who made 10 saves in 32 minutes of relief. --- BRONCOS 3 WARRIORS 1 MOOSE JAW, Sask. -- Eetu Laurikainen stopped 29 shots and Coda Gordons goal at 10:18 of the first period stood up as the winner as Swift Current slipped past the Warriors. Nathan Burns and Jay Merkley also scored for the Broncos (38-25-9) while Gordon tacked on an assist for a two-point outing. Jack Rodeald scored the lone goal for Moose Jaw (21-42-9), which finishes the regular season 18 points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Justin Paulic stopped 31-of-34 shots for the Warriors. --- RAIDERS 6 BLADES 4 SASKATOON -- Jayden Hart had a pair of goals as Prince Albert defeated the Blades to keep its playoff hopes alive. Collin Valcourt scored once and set up two more for the Raiders (35-32-5), who sit eighth in the Eastern Conference standings, while Dakota Conroy, Carson Perreaux and Leon Draisaitl added a goal apiece. Chase Clayton scored twice for Saskatoon (16-51-5), which finishes its season on a 12-game slide. Nick McBride made 39 saves for Prince Albert as Troy Trombley kicked out 25-of-30 shots for the Blades. --- TIGGERS 6 HURRICANES 3 MEDICINE HAT, Alta.dddddddddddd -- Curtis Valk had two goals and two assists and Cole Sanford scored once and set up three more as the Tigers topples Lethbridge. Trevor Cox also scored twice for Medicine Hat (43-24-4) while Alex Mowbray added a single goal. Reid Duke, Bryton Sayers and Tyler Bell scored for the Hurricanes (12-54-5), who are on a 13-game skid with one game remaining on schedule. Marek Langhamer made 32 saves for the Tigers as Lethbridges Stuart Skinner turned away 35-of-41 shots in defeat. --- WINTERHAWKS 7 THUNDERBIRDS 0 PORTLAND, Ore. -- Oliver Bjorkstrand scored three times and Brenden Burke made 28 saves as the Winterhawks blanked Seattle. Mathew Dumba scored once and assisted on three more for Portland (53-13-5), which extended its win streak to six games, while Paul Bittner, Adam Rossignol and Taylor Leier added the others. Defencemen Jared Hauf and Evan Wardley were both a team-worst minus-3 for the Thunderbirds (40-25-6). Seattles Danny Mumaugh turned aside 37-of-44 shots in defeat. --- COUGARS 8 BLAZERS 3 PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. -- Todd Fiddler scored four times and Troy Bourke had a goal and three assists as the Cougars downed Kamloops. Sam Ruopp scored once and set up two more for Prince George (27-37-8), which halted a six-game slide, and Brad Morrison and Klarc Wilson added single goals. Deven Sideroff, Matt Needham and Jesse Shynkaruk scored for the Blazers (14-53-5). Ty Edmonds made 28 saves for the Cougars while Bolton Pouliot stopped 43-of-51 shots for Kamloops. --- SILVERTIPS 3 ROYALS 2 EVERETT, Wash. -- Austin Lotz made 22 saves and Carson Stadnyk broke a 2-2 deadlock at 18:32 of the third period as the Silvertips edged Victoria. Mirco Mueller and Ben Betker also scored for Everett (39-23-9), which is 11-0-1 in its last 12 contests. The Royals (48-20-4) got goals from Tyler Soy and Logan Nelson. Coleman Vollrath turned away 22-of-25 shots for the Royals, who have dropped three games in a row. --- ROCKETS 5 GIANTS 3 KELOWNA, B.C. -- Carter Rigby had a pair of goals and Nick Merkley had a goal and two assists as the Rockets downed Vancouver. Rourke Chartier and Madison Bowey also scored for Kelowna (57-11-4) and Ryan Olsen tacked on two assists. Jackson Houck scored twice for the Giants (32-29-11) and set up Joel Hamilton as well. Jordon Cooke made 29 saves for the Rockets. Vancouvers Payton Lee stopped 35-of-40 shots in defeat. --- AMERICANS 3 CHIEFS 0 KENNEWICK, Wash. -- Eric Comrie only had to make 18 saves as Tri-City snapped a five-game losing streak by blanking Spokane. Beau McCue, Parker Bowles and Jessey Astles registered a goal apiece for the Americans (29-32-10). Eric Williams allowed three goals on 14 shots for the Chiefs (40-26-6) before getting pulled for Garret Hughson at the 9:27 mark of the second period. Hughson stopped all 11 shots he faced in relief. Comries shutout was his fourth of the season and ninth of his WHL career. ' ' '