Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has insisted that he would NEVER have let Nemanja Matic leave Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho wasn’t in charge of the West London club at the time, as Carlo Ancelotti was the one who sold Matic to Benfica.
The deal was made to free up space in the Blues’ squad so that Brazilian international David Luiz could make his move to the Premier League.
However, Mourinho spent £21 million to bring the Serbian international Matic back to Chelsea from the Portugese champions.
Now Matic has become a talisman of Mourinho’s current crop of stars. They have already won the Capital One Cup and are also in the driving seat for the Premier League title.
The Blues’ boss said: “If I had been here – left-footed player, 1.95m tall – a midfield player like that would never, never leave.”
He also added: “Matic is very important in the balance of our team. Our team was developed with him in that position. Everybody feels comfortable with him there. Kurt Zouma did amazingly well for us in those two games in that position but he is a central defender.”
The 26-year old has scored three goals in 38 games in all competitions this campaign.
By Kieran Makin (@kieranmaksports)
