Nemanja Matic is expected to team up with his ex-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho at Manchester United in the coming weeks.
The Chelsea midfielder has been strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford and was missing from Chelsea’s Nike kit launch yesterday.
The deal is only stumbling as Antonio Conte finds an adequate replacement for Matic before he allows the Serb to leave Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are expected to complete the signing of Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko and once that deal has been confirmed, United are hopeful of securing Matic.
The Manchester Evening News says Matic, 28, wants to join Manchester United after Jose Mourinho had earmarked the Serbian as the holding midfielder to grant Paul Pogba a freer role next season.
Matic’s inclusion could provide United with a dream midfield. We’ve put together the best Mourinho’s side has to offer in the middle of the park this season…
CDM: NEMANJA MATIC
The midfielder will likely operate in a holding midfield role of a three, tough tackling and cutting passing lanes.
Matic did not enjoy the best of seasons with Chelsea last year, but if he can rekindle the form he showed during his title-winning season under Mourinho, the Serb will be an excellent addition to the United side.
Crucially, he’ll make those around him an awful lot better too, making his arrival an important one indeed.
CM: ANDER HERERRA
Ander Herrera received great plaudits last season amongst pundits and the Old Trafford faithful. The Spaniard provides an infectious, energetic bulldog like approach, but also has the skill and guile to perform a pin-point cross-field ball or find the back of the net.
Touted by many of the punters propping up our bar as a potential captain, the former Atletico Bilbao man may be the best player of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era so far.
CM: PAUL POGBA
Matic’s inclusion will allow Paul Pogba the license to get forward and contribute in the goalscoring market. The Frenchman enjoyed a steady season in his Old Trafford second-coming, but will now be afforded the opportunity to play more freely and improve on his nine goals and six assists tally last season.
An absolute monster when given the freedom he enjoyed at Juventus, the world’s most expensive footballer may be the biggest beneficiary of Matic’s potential arrival.
