Chelsea Transfers: 5 Midfield Replacements For Juan Mata

5. Nemanja Matic

NemanjaMatic Benfica midfielder Nemanja Matic joined Chelsea as a 20-year old after moving from Slovakia but never managed to establish himself in the Premier League, making just two appearances for the Blues before being used as a makeweight as part of the deal that saw David Luiz move to Stamford Bridge in 2011. He then found himself on the move again when Benfica loaned him to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem, but since then he's come good. The Serbian has netted 42 goals in Portugal and today commands a £38 million price tag, a figure of which no one ever predicted would be slapped on his head a few years ago. But that's indicative of how much he has progressed since leaving West London and the very fact Chelsea want him back shows he has potential. Big-spending Ligue 1 side Monaco are also even interested in his services. Mourinho is a huge fan of Matic who, like the Portuguese manager, could be set for a second coming at Stamford Bridge.
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Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.