Manchester United Close To Finally Securing Nemanja Matic Deal

Despite a lengthy delay, it appears that Nemanja Matic is finally set to sign for Manchester United

Sky Sports have broken the news in the last hour that the Serbian midfielder is close to leaving Stamford Bridge, a move that has been widely expected since Chelsea signed Monaco's Tiemoue Bakayoko earlier this summer.

Matic was reported as being close to a move to Old Trafford a month ago, when a £40 million deal worth £155,000-per-week was apparently set to be sealed.

However, following United swiping top Blues target Romelu Lukaku from under Chelsea's noses, the Premier League champions reportedly became a bit more difficult with Ed Woodward and co, making them wait for a deal on the former Benfica midfielder, with Jose Mourinho also monitoring alternative deals for Tottenham's Eric Dier and Anderlecht's Leander Dendoncker.

However, one month and an extra £10 million later and it appears Matic will indeed become a United player, albeit for £50 million rather than the £40 million the Old Trafford club had initially hoped to part with for the Serbian's services.

It will be the second time Jose Mourinho has signed Matic, with the Portuguese manager bringing the 28-year-old back to Stamford Bridge from Benfica in January 2014.

Topics: nemanja matic, Football, Manchester United, Chelsea FC

Joe Baiamonte

Northerner. Assistant Editor of SPORTbible. Studied Journalism and Broadcasting in a portakabin on a car park of Salford University for three years. Believes football peaked with Serie A in the '90s and strong-arms pro wrestling references into as many articles as possible. Neymar once took 50 euros off me during a game of poker.

@JoeBaia