Man United confirm £40m deal for Chelsea star Nemanja Matic
The Serbian midfielder is reunited with Jose Mourinho and will bring some much-needed steel the Old Trafford
Nemanja Matic officially changed colour on Monday, switching from blue to red as he joined Manchester United and secured a reunion with Jose Mourinho.
The United gaffer made no secret of his desire to have the 28-year-old Serbian international midfielder under his tutelage once more following their successful partnership at Chelsea. Now his wish has been granted with the official United website confirming the arrival of Matic from Chelsea on a three-year deal.
"Nemanja is a Manchester United player and a Jose Mourinho player," gushed the United manager. "He represents everything we want in a footballer; loyalty, consistency, ambition, team player."
Mourinho clearly sees Matic as a key member of his squad, which has lacked midfield steel in recent seasons. "I am sure our players and supporters will love him," he said.
And the Serbian playmaker reciprocated the love as he put pen to paper, saying: "I am delighted to have joined Manchester United. To work with Jose Mourinho once again was an opportunity I couldn't turn down."
Having made the obligatory fond farewell to his former club, and thanking them for some happy days, Matic cast an eye to the future: "This is a very exciting time for the club and I am looking forward to playing my part in creating more history for this great club."
As for the money involved, The Sun claims that United paid Chelsea £40m for Matic and there was no chance of negotiating a lower fee because Blues officials are still said to be furious with the Red Devils after they pinched Romelu Lukaku from under their noses.
Apparently the Premier League champs would have preferred to sell Matic to Juventus, but the Italian club baulked at the asking price and left the field open for United.
Meanwhile Talksport reports that Mourinho has ruled out jettisoning Marouane Fellaini this summer, even though the arrival of Matic puts him under pressure.
The 29-year-old Belgian, who is in the final year of his contract, and has been linked with a move to Galatasaray in recent weeks. But Mourinho has booted the rumours into touch with a curt message for the Turkish club: "Marouane? Forget it. He's too important for me."
