The interest Chelsea have in Nemanja Matic of Benfica is nothing new, but according to reports from Portugal it seems like the deal to sign the Serbian midfielder who used to play very shortly for the London club.
According to O Jogo, Matic and his reps have already agreed to personal terms with Chelsea and now he’s waiting for the team to finally accept the Chelsea offer. According to reports Benfica have rejected a €35 million offer from Chelsea, but there’s a chance that due to the good relationship between the two clubs – Benfica have sold Ramires and David Luiz to Chelsea in recent years, that the Matic thing will work out.
Not that Matic is really helping – in his attempt to increase the pressure on the board to release him, he might refuse to play in the O Classico against Porto on Sunday. Putting that kind of pressure on Benfica, who do need the money from Matic’s sale, might finally convince them to let him go, but it might also do the opposite. In any case, most expect Benfica to agree, and for Matic to join Chelsea on Monday.
The 25-year old central midfielder, usually playing in a defensive role, hasn’t spent much time with Benfica. He has played for them since 2011, scoring 6 goals in 55 matches. He has also played in the Champions League for Benfica, which means Chelsea won’t be able to use him in the next stage or further down the road this season. Matic was actually a Chelsea player from 2009 to 2011 (not Mourinho’s time) but after one season of doing nothing and another of being loaned out to Vitesse, he was to Benfica as part of a player swap that included David Luiz.
Matic’s buyout clasue is worth €45 million, but Chelsea are hoping that they’ll be able to get him for a little less. Roman Abramovich has the money, but he’d rather not continue injecting cash without seeing some revenue, but Mourinho is pressing on to get more players to help him win the championship.