Nemanja Matic may be the first Chelsea starter to depart in the summer transfer window. Matic could reunite with the manager who gave him his lowest moment ever: Jose Mourinho.
Jose Mourinho has had public dalliances with bringing some of his former Chelsea players to Manchester United. Nemanja Matic and Willian most frequently appear in such rumours. Willian has little open affinity for Mourinho or United, little open dissatisfaction with Chelsea and far too much enjoyment trolling Tottenham to leave west London.
Nemanja Matic, on the other hand, makes more sense from a tactical and personnel perspective. Matic was second only to Diego Costa in terms of benefiting from Antonio Conte’s reluctance to change his established starting XI. Even after Cesc Fabregas started having a massive impact as a starter or sub, Matic held his spot. Matic had a few above-average performances in the first half of the season, but would go missing for extended periods late in the season.
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His screamer goal against Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-finals summed up his season. Until that point in the game his performance was forgettable, assuming you even knew he was there in the first place. Then the whole world took notice, and promptly shared gif’s of Kurt Zouma’s reaction more than Matic’s goal.
Nemanja Matic’s only distinguishing contribution to Chelsea’s midfield is his height. Even that is a dubious value proposition, as he was not particularly strong in the air on defence or set pieces. However, he at least offers a physical barrier that opponents must overcome.
Matic’s departure would expose Chelsea’s midfield to endless over-the-top attacks to exploit their short stature. While Matic is 1.94m, his partner N’Golo Kante is 1.69m and his replacement Cesc Fabregas is 1.75m. Of Chelsea’s current options, Nathaniel Chalobah is 1.85m. Chelsea’s main transfer targets in midfield would do little to cover the height disparity. Timeoue Bakayoko and Marco Verratti are 1.84m and 1.65, respectively.
A player that has little to offer the club besides height is scarcely worth keeping. Chelsea’s opponents exposed Matic’s lack of agility, coordination and positional sense repeatedly this season. Matic and Kante worked well together, but Kante is a player who makes everyone around him look good. A midfield partner closer to his own level would make Chelsea a formidable threat.
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Jose Mourinho envisions Nemanja Matic playing a traditional Mourinho-style holding midfield role at Manchester United. Matic would free up Paul Pogba to play more openly and create from the midfield, with fewer responsibilities on defence.
Mourinho has previously extracted some of Matic’s best seasons, along with his career low point. The holding role in a 4-2-3-1 is better suited for Matic than the mobile and fluid role in the 3-4-3. However, Matic would need to assess if a more familiar tactical system and potentially more playing time is worth the ever-present drama, slights and negativity of Mourinho’s United.
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Chelsea would have little to fear from facing Matic as a Red Devil twice per season. If they can turn a slight profit on him and use that money to buy a more Conte-esque midfielder, Chelsea should make that transfer happen.