Following reports yesterday that Chelsea have set a price tag of £18million-£22million for Nemanja Matic after reported interest from Juventus, rumours have surfaced today suggesting that Manchester United are also looking to sign the midfielder.
United boss Jose Mourinho re-signed Matic for Chelsea, paying Benfica £21million in January 2014, and the midfielder played a pivotal role in the Blues’ title-winning squad under the Portuguese manager.
However, his performance levels have dropped considerably since, with many Blues fans voicing their discontent with Matic and questioning the 28-year-old’s place in the side, as we saw in our poll on Monday.
After asking Chelsea fans whether they would like to see the Serbia international stay at the club or whether they would like to see him leave, 85 percent voted for Matic to leave.
With that in mind, we’ve identified five possible replacements that Chelsea either have at their disposal already or players they may look to bring in, should Matic leave the club in January:
Lewis Baker
Baker is a player who I’ve admired for a while and the youngster has been seriously impressive for Vitesse Arnhem on loan this season.
The central midfielder has scored four times in eight appearances in the Eredivisie and has been named as Man-of-the-Match twice.He also
He was also England’s top scorer in their Toulon Tournament triumph in the summer. Baker has the quality to replace Matic and become a first-team regular next season.
Nathaniel Chalobah
Chalobah is a player who has been on the fringes of the first-team for a while now, in between his various loan spells.
The midfielder finally made his senior debut against Leicester in the EFL Cup earlier this season, nearly six years after first being named on the bench. Given the right guidance, he is another who is capable of stepping up and replacing Matic.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Loftus-Cheek is another who has drifted in and out of the first-team, but he is clearly talented enough to cement a place in the senior squad.
He has struggled to adapt to the role that Antonio Conte is trying to play him in this season, but should Matic leave ,he could drop back into his preferred central midfield role and look right at home in the senior side.
Radja Nainggolan
Antonio Conte seemed determined to try and sign Roma’s Radja Nainggolan during the summer but ultimately did not receive the financial backing from the board.
The Belgian international would take no time at all to adapt to the Premier League due to his aggressive and physical style of play, and could be persuaded by Chelsea’s Belgian contingent of Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois, and Michy Batshuayi should Conte pursue him in January.
Steven N'Zonzi
N’Zonzi may seem like a strange, perhaps surprising transfer target for Chelsea, but would it be a smart move if Matic did leave?
The former Stoke City man already has experience of the Premier League and turned in some brilliant performances towards the latter stages of his Potters career which ultimately earned him a move to Sevilla, where he has been a consistent figure since his £7million move.