While the summer transfer window has been dominated by the news that Paris Saint-Germain shattered the world record to sign Neymar from Barcelona for €222 million, there’s another move in England which has left fans and pundits scratching their heads.
Jose Mourinho has been reunited with Nemanja Matic once again as Manchester United splashed out £40 million-plus to sign the Serbian international from Chelsea.
MATIC EXIT
It had been well-documented that his future at Stamford Bridge was unclear, as the arrival of AS Monaco’s Tiemoue Bakayoko suggested he’d fall down the pecking order, especially since N'Golo Kante had his place in the starting XI nailed down.
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That’s not to say his departure was a good thing for the Blues, as manager Antonio Conte has already made it sound like he didn’t want Matic to leave the club, and that comes as no surprise as he’s played a big part in Chelsea’s title-winning campaign over the last few years.
His departure means the Italian now only has 14 fit senior players with the Premier League set to kick off in just a matter of days, and it’s clear he’s endured a tough summer.
It was a confusing decision to let that deal go through, with pundits claiming the same thing, especially when you consider the Old Trafford outfit snatched Romelu Lukaku from under their noses.
Now, Conte has revealed that the Matic sale to United has ruined the plans he had in place for Bakayoko, claiming he must now rush him into first team action as opposed to easing him in.
Bakayoko is yet to make his Chelsea as he continues his rehabilitation from a knee injury he sustained at Monaco.
BAKAYOKO PLAN
Conte explained that his idea was to have Bakayoko adapt slowly to the demands of the Premier League, behind Matic.
According to the Evening Standard, he said: “Bakayoko is a good signing for us. He is very young.
“My idea was to give Bakayoko the right time to adapt in this league behind Matic. But now after the sale of Matic, we need to try to accelerate this process for Bakayoko after his injury.
“We have Cesc Fabregas and we are trying to find another midfielder. Because now we have only three midfielders and we need another midfielder.”
This isn’t the first time Conte has spoken negatively about Matic’s departure, so questions will be raised on why that deal was allowed to go ahead, particularly since his side hasn’t enjoyed the most successful of transfer windows.
They’ve missed out on several targets, including Leonardo Bonucci and Alex Sandro, while it’s thought that the fourth midfielder he wants could end up being Leicester City’s Danny Drinkwater.
Still, this will be music to his rivals’ ears as they look to capitalise on Conte’s troubles.
What do you make of Antonio Conte’s remarks on the Nemanja Matic sale? Have YOUR say in the comments section below.
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