By Ewah Chika.
Nemanja Matic might have had the worst season of his professional career in Chelsea last season,
but even as his place in the team looks less likely considering the signing of N'Golo Kante from Leicester City for £30 million, Matic has made it publicly clear he is staying at the club to fight for his place in the team this season.
"I am sure that 100,000 players want to come to play for Chelsea so there is always competition, all life is a fight so every player is ready for that ," were the words of the Serbian on Wednesday while with the team for pre-season in the US.
The debate over the future of Matic is coming considering the highly anticipated playing style and formation of Italian manager Antonie Conte who plans on playing a 4-2-4 formation in Chelsea this season which puts the future of the Serbian in doubt considering Kante is the defensive midfielder
likely to be paired with Spanish playmaker Cesc Fabregas In the centre of the field. Last season, Matic was a shadow of his old self as he performed poorly all through the season. If fans thought he would experience a revival after the exit of Jose Mourinho in December, then they were in for a rude shock as new manager Guus Hiddink preferred Nigerian John Obi Mikel ahead of him thereby restricting the former Benfica midfielders playing time. The midfielder ended up making 27 starts and eight substitute appearances in the league compared to his 33 starts during the 2014/2015 season. Chelsea might be tempted to cash in on the 27-year-old whose contract expires in 2019 with the likes of Juventus anxiously trying to sign him as a replacement for Paul Pogba who departed for Manchester United this week. Another argument in favour of the sale of the midfielder is the talent in Chelsea with the likes of Loftus Cheek, Nathan Chalobah all ready for first team football after progressing from the Chelsea academy .
With Chelsea not playing any European competition next season, the Blues will have fewer games compared to previous seasons which makes sense for the squad to be trimmed. With Matic, In the prime of his career, Chelsea is highly likely to make more than the £21 million spent on his signing in 2014 from Benfica if he is moved on this summer given his quality and the highly inflated transfer market.
On the other hand, after seeing his players train and play three pre-season games, Conte is reluctant to let the Serbian leave and has even played him in all the games so far. Conte went further to insist the midfielder is not for sale at any price and has his full confidence. Matic has performed perfectly well during the pre-season and has shielded the back four impressively in a manner that suggests he is gradually getting rejuvenated. The player is a highly aggressive and physical player which is the main attribute that Conte wants from his players judging from his records while at Bari, Siena, Juventus and recently Juventus. Matic's versatility have also come to play considering his ability to play further up as a No.10 which was his position during his first spell at Chelsea before moving to Benfica where coach Jorge Jesus changed him to a defensive midfielder. Also though both Kante and
Matic playin the same position , both players play different styles with Matic more attacking of the duo and Kante more defensive. Matic's ability to score odd, spectacular and important goals are not to be understated given his goal away against Everton in the 3-1 loss last season which was voted Chelsea's Goal of the Season. Matic is also better in terms of passing with only Cesc Fabregas bettering his pass accuracy In Chelsea since his signing in the winter of 2014. Matic's ability to give long range passes will come in handy when Chelsea play teams that leave so much spaces and gaps which Chelsea will do well to exploit. Also Matic's frame , height and experience will be difficult to replace with Chelsea currently lacking dressing room characters unlike that of Mourinho's first era which had Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Peter Cech to mention but a few. Given the busy Christmas schedule and the uncertainty of injuries , it is wise that Nemanja Matic is retained at the club also considering the midfielder's impressive technical and tactical knowledge which will be important to the team as Antonie Conte loves to change and tinker with his team and formation even during games.
Nemanja Matic might have disappointed Chelsea fans with his performance last season but certainly he isn't the only one to be blamed as the whole Chelsea team were all guilty of that excluding Willian and Betrand Traore who was impressive when brought on last season. Nemanja Matic deserves a second chance and can only be be judged by the end of the season, as for now he remains a big part of Antonie Conte's plans.
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