Mata is expected to sign a four-and-a-half year deal at Old Trafford. The Spain international, who has won 32 caps, said goodbye to team-mates and staff at Chelsea's Cobham training ground on Wednesday.
United continue to deny having made a bid for the playmaker, but it is understood they have made an offer through intermediaries working on the deal.
Manager David Moyes declined to answer questions on Juan Mata after his side's Capital One Cup semi-final defeat by Sunderland.
Members of the media were informed before the post-match news conference that Moyes would be answering questions on the game only and when asked afterwards about Mata, the Scot said simply: "We are not saying anything."
Should the deal go through it would break United's previous record transfer - the £30.75m they paid Spurs for Dimitar Berbatov in September 2008.
Mata has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge after struggling to hold down a regular starting place under Jose Mourinho.
On Tuesday, Chelsea insisted that Mata, who had been voted the club's player of the year two seasons in a row, was not for sale.
But the player, who was part of the Spain squad which won the World Cup in 2010 and European Championship in 2012, has been substituted in nine of his 13 Premier League appearances for the Blues this season, prompting speculation other clubs could bid for him in the January transfer window.
United have made no secret of their plans to rebuild their team under Moyes and are prepared to pay a premium for top players if it means securing them now rather than waiting until the summer.
"A lot of the work we are doing now is in preparation for the summer," Moyes told United's matchday programme ahead of their League Cup semi-final second-leg against Sunderland on Wednesday.
"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."
Chelsea boss Mourinho, 50, said last week that while he understood it was "hard" for Mata to sit on the bench, the Spaniard still had a "big role" to play at the club.
The Portuguese has trusted Eden Hazard, Oscar and summer signing Willian in attacking roles this season and while his relationship with Mata is healthy, he has conceded Chelsea's system does not suit the player.
"There are fantastic players, but sometimes the fantastic players are more fantastic to a certain system and less fantastic in a certain model of play," Mourinho told BBC Sport's Football Focus.
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