Manchester United are poised to complete the purchase of Nemanja Matic from Chelsea after the midfielder underwent a medical on Sunday.
Matic’s signing would be a significant boost to José Mourinho after United failed in their efforts to purchase Eric Dier from Tottenham Hotspur.
Juventus were also keen on Matic but the player, who will be 29 on Tuesday, preferred a move to Old Trafford to be reunited with Mourinho, who brought him back to Chelsea in January 2014. Talks between United and Chelsea over a fee have taken some time, with the clubs initially substantially apart over the price.
Chelsea had set their sights on receiving £50m and it is not yet clear what the fee will be for the 28-year-old. They were particularly keen to drive a hard bargain with United after missing out to them over the signing of Romelu Lukaku.
Matic’s Stamford Bridge exit had long been expected after the Chelsea manager Antonio Conte signed the France international Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco in £39.7m deal this month.
A picture circulated on Twitter purporting to show Matic in United training kit and wearing No31, which has been vacant since the departure of Bastian Schweinsteiger. Chelsea had left Matic out of their tour to Asia to allow him to finalise a move. Next on Juventus’s list of midfield targets are Paris Saint-Germain’s Blase Matuidi and Sevilla’s Steven N’Zonzi.
Matic would be United’s third signing of the summer following a £31m deal for the defender Victor Lindelof and the £75m move for Lukaku from Everton. Matic could make his debut against Sampdoria in Dublin on Wednesday or in the Uefa Super Cup against Real Madrid next week. Mourinho told MUTV: “I’m waiting for news. I know that he wants that very, very much and when a player wants very, very much the chance is bigger … so I think we have a chance but in football until it’s official, I saw so many things happen that I refuse to say more than I am telling you now.”
Matic was a key component of Chelsea’s title-winning team in 2014-15 after Mourinho brought him back to the club from Benfica for £20.75m.
United have also been linked with a winger and are keen on Ivan Perisic. Internazionale’s £49m asking price, however, has proved a substantial stumbling block.
Perisic fits Mourinho’s requirements but the United manager may now be forced to look elsewhere for an attacking solution, with the club reportedly also interested in Everton’s Ross Barkley.
Mourinho, speaking after a 3-0 friendly victory against Valerenga in Oslo on Sunday , appeared to end Galatasaray’s hopes of signing Marouane Fellaini. The Turkish club were sufficiently confident of getting the midfielder that they had made plans for their president, Dursun Ozbek, or another board member to come to Manchester on Monday or Tuesday.
An agreement has been reached in principle with the 29-year-old Fellaini over a four‑year contract worth in the region of €4m (£3.6m), which would make him their highest-paid player.
However, Mourinho said after Fellaini scored against Valerenga: “It’s easier for Galatasaray to get me than Marouane. If they need a manager, they can try and have a chance, but Marouane? Forget it. He’s too important for me.”