How much are Chelsea regretting selling Nemanja Matic to rivals Manchester United?

While Antonio Conte clearly felt that Tiemoue Bakayoko offered a better partner to N’Golo Kante than Matic, allowing him to strengthen their title rivals seems an extremely foolish thing to do.

It certainly hasn’t taken Matic long to prove that the £40 million Jose Mourinho spent on him was well worth it.

He has settled in at Old Trafford instantly, allowing the likes of Paul Pogba and others to flourish in a swashbuckling United side.

But not everyone was convinced with the signing of Matic in the first place.

While it was obvious Mourinho needed to strengthen in that position with Michael Carrick not getting any younger, some didn’t necessarily think Matic was the answer.

That includes Sky Sports pundit and former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher.

After Matic completed his move to the Theatre of Dreams, Carragher admitted that, although it could prove to be a good signing, he believed the Serbian had been ‘off the boil’ for the past 18 months.

Carragher's comments on Matic

"Nemanja Matic is clearly an upgrade for Manchester United in an area that was a problem for them, especially with Michael Carrick getting older," he told Sky Sports.

"He has been back in the Premier League for three-and-a-half years and for the first 18 months I thought he was one hell of a player, but since then he has gone off the boil.

"He did well as Chelsea won the league last year, but he didn’t go back to the level of 2014/15 and Cesc Fabregas was playing a lot more in the second half of last season.

"At 29, I can understand why Chelsea sold him but it’s still a good signing for Man United as there are not many of those players about.

"Mourinho knows him and he’s won two titles, but can he get back to being the player I saw in 2014 and 2015?"

Carragher clearly doubted Matic’s ability when Mourinho signed him this summer.

But the Liverpool legend will be eating his own words after the start Matic has made to his United career. And the 29-year-old will be looking to follow in Kante’s footsteps by winning two consecutive league titles with two different clubs.