Manchester United head of academy and former midfielder Nicky Butt has heaped praise on Chelsea star Nemanja Matic after claiming the midfielder is the type of player who will be happy to do the dirty work for Jose Mourinho.
Matic is keen to reunite with Mourinho and wants to complete a switch to United. The Red Devils manager turned his attention towards the former midfielder after giving up on Eric Dier of Tottenham Hotspur.
The Portuguese tactician re-signed the 28-year-old for Chelsea in January 2014, when the former was in charge at Stamford Bridge. Antonio Conte replaced Mourinho at the west London club and Matic played a key role alongside N’Golo Kante in the Blues’ title winning campaign last season.
However, the former Juventus and Italy manager is willing to allow Matic leave Chelsea in the summer transfer window. Conte wants to replace the midfielder with AS Monaco’s 22-year-old Tiemoué Bakayoko.
Butt believes the former Benfica man will be a good addition to the 20-time English champions’ squad for the 2017-18 season.
“He [Matic] is the type of player who’d be happy to sit in front of back four, a team player who doesn’t get the same attention of a goalscorer,” Butt told Unibet.
“He does the work that is appreciated by his teammates. The best players in a team are not always the match winners, but those who can play in a team.”
The Red Devils have completed only one signing so far in the ongoing transfer window. Swedish international defender Victor Lindelof arrived at Old Trafford from Benfica earlier in June. Should Matic complete a move to United, he is likely to be their second signing of this summer.
The pressure is on United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to land the targets given by Mourinho. The former Inter Milan and Real Madrid manager has publicly revealed that he has already handed the list of targets to Woodward two months ago. He told this just after helping his side win the Europa League in May.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
