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What’s the story?
As per reports in the UK dailies, Metro and the Manchester Evening News, Jose Mourinho and Manchester United are closer to beefing up their midfield as they have reportedly agreed personal terms with Serbian midfield enforcer Nemanja Matic. A key cog in the Chelsea midfield, Conte will be unwilling to sell him on the cheap and will seek an offer of at least £40million according to reports.
In case you didn’t know
Matic had been initially signed with Chelsea in 2009 (for £1.5 million from MFK Kosice) and appeared in Chelsea Blue for just 3 games in his first year. The year after that he was farmed out on loan, as per standard Stamford Bridge practices to Vitesse Arnhem before he was sold on to Benfica in 2011 as part of a cash (25 million Euros) + player swap for the flamboyant David Luiz.
When Jose Mourinho took charge again at Chelsea in 2013, he insisted that Chelsea and Abramovich go back and sign the Serbian – which the Portuguese giants agreed for a handsome £21 million fee. He was the bedrock of the Mourinho’s charge to the Premier League triumph in the 2014-15 season. He was also part of the best central midfield partnership in the league this past season (alongside the Player of the Year, N’Golo Kante) and has now amassed 146 appearances for the Blues in his second stint at the club.
The heart of the matter
There are two main reasons in favour of this season – Chelsea are close to signing Tiemoué Bakayoko and it is highly likely that the promising Frenchman will usurp the Serb’s starting place and hence Matic’s desire to leave. Meanwhile, Mourinho appears desperate to add more steel to the centre of the park and Matic is certainly the kind of character Mourinho loves in his sides. It is but natural then that both Matic and Mourinho will look to a trusted aide to solve a mutual issue.
Video
The best of the Serb from the past season at Chelsea:
Make no mistake, the lad can play
Author’s Take
This deal seems a like a win-win for both sides to be honest. While Conte would have loved to have Matic as an option on the bench it is unlikely that the Serb would have been happy being used as a second-choice to someone much younger than him (Bakayoko is 22). Jose Mourinho would have however relish the prospect of fielding the Serb alongside Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera – freeing the former up completely while also ensuring that Herrera’s creative side is not completely negated
