Nemanja Matic impressed on his Manchester United debut against West Ham (Picture: Getty)
Nemanja Matic impressed on his Manchester United debut against West Ham (Picture: Getty)

Antonio Conte did not see a long-term role for Nemanja Matic in his Chelsea team and had five serious concerns over the new Manchester United signing, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The Chelsea manager’s difficult summer and embarrassing start to the new season was capped by United’s 4-0 thrashing of West Ham on Sunday, during which Matic endeared himself to the Old Trafford debut with a dominant performance on his Premier League debut for his new club.

Conte has openly and publicly questioned the sale of the Serbia international who has played a pivotal role in two Chelsea title-winning campaigns, but the Telegraph claims the former Juventus boss was not opposed to the 29-year-old’s sale.

The report claims that Conte felt he was gaining a significant upgrade when he secured the services of Tiemoue Bakayoko, the France international who helped power Monaco to the French championship last season.

A lightweight Chelsea were beaten 3-2 by Burnley on the opening weekend (Picture: Getty)

CHELSEA TRANSFERS IN

Willy Caballero (free, from Manchester City), Antonio Rudiger (£34m, from Roma), Tiemoue Bakayoko (£40m, from Monaco), Alvaro Morata (£60m, from Real Madrid)


CHELSEA TRANSFERS OUT

Juan Cuadrado (£17m, to Juventus), Christian Atsu (£6.2m, to Newcastle), Dominic Solanke (Compensation, to Liverpool), Asmir Begovic (£10m, to Bournemouth), Alex Kiwomya (free, to Doncaster), Bertrand Traore (£8.8m, to Lyon), Nathan Ake (£20m, to Bournemouth), John Terry (free, to Aston Villa), Tammy Abraham (loan, to Swansea), Alex Davey (released), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (loan, to Crystal Palace), Nathaniel Chalobah (£5m, to Watford) emanja Matic (£40m, to Man Utd)

Indeed, it is claimed that the former Juventus boss had serious doubts about Matic’s motivation and how he would cope with another full Premier League season given he will turn 30 next August.

As well as doubts about his physical longevity, Conte is said to have felt the former Benfica midfielder was not mobile enough, ponderous in possession and tactically inflexible.

Chelsea started with Cesc Fabregas and N’Golo Kante in central midfield at the weekend and were overpowered by Burnley, who recorded a surprise 3-2 victory.

Bakayoko is still recovering after he underwent surgery on a knee injury during the summer and with Fabregas suspended, Chelsea could well be forced to pick David Luiz in the heart of their engine room for Sunday’s showdown with Tottenham at Wembley.

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