Will Nemanja Matic's second coming prove more fruitful to Chelsea than his first?

Nemanja Matic

If there is one thing that is ultimately puzzling about Chelsea ever since Mourinho took over for the second time, it has been the management, or rather, the mismanagement of the players at his disposal. If the decision to send Lukaku, arguably the best striker in the squad, on loan was one thing, his treatment of the club’s Player of the Year is quite another. Yet another feather to his not-so illustrious cap is his decision to re-sign Nemanja Matic from Benfica for a staggering £22m, just three years after his departure from London. A move which begs the question, did the club actually do the right thing in letting him go in the first place?

Now, whilst the acquisition of Matic isn’t necessarily a bad decision, the fee involved, makes it baffling to say the least. After all, it was just in January 2011 that Matic went to Benfica as a makeweight in the David Luiz deal, where his valuation was priced at just £3m, double the amount he was signed for in 2009 from Slovakian side Kosice. His first spell with the club was far from successful, as he went out on loan to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem before coming back to find out that he had lost his place to more experienced candidates and promising youngsters coming through the ranks. Ultimately, that led to his departure from the Blues, only to return after a hugely successful time in Portugal.

The physically imposing 6′ 4″ defensive midfielder was a pillar in Jorge Jesus’s Benfica side who were finalists in last year’s Europa League. The 25-year-old Serbian grew in stature at the Portuguese outfit and evolved into one of the finest defensive midfielders in Europe, attracting the attention of many suitors, including Manchester United, a club he might well play against on Sunday, if his deal is through, as expected, by Wednesday.

The Serbian might well be what the doctor ordered for Chelsea as his tenacious tackling and his progressive passing will provide some much needed solidity in the middle of the park. Something that Mourinho’s teams were renowned for, but have lacked thus far. Having said that, Mourinho supposedly addressed this very concern in the summer, with the acquisition of Marco Van Ginkel. Unfortunately for Mourinho, the Dutchman has been out with injury for much of the season and the Portuguese doesn’t seem to favor either Mikel or Essien in the Makelele role. And whilst Matic might slot right in that role, it defies all belief that Chelsea had to spend over seven times the amount they received whilst selling him just three years back.

While the £22m being quoted is significantly lower than the £37m buy-out clause in his contract, it is still an awful lot for a player whom they could have had for a meager amount had they inserted a buyback clause before selling him. And it is not as though they didn’t know about him before he moved on. According to central defender and international team-mate Branislav Ivanovic, Matic had “the qualities to be a top player, but he needed practice” and it is precisely this that he got in Portugal that has transformed him into one of the finest defensive midfielders in world football at the moment.

Some saving grace for Chelsea might well come from the fact that Kevin De Bruyne is on his way to Wolfsburg for around £17m, and that might well offset the money being spent on Matic. With first-team opportunities at a premium, De Bruyne is reportedly on his way to Germany as a result of a season that saw him start just two League games in a World Cup year.

But, the truth is that, all of his could have very well been avoided if they had been more astute with their transfers and not just kept on buying any young player with some potential. Whilst Matic might well prove to be one of Mourinho’s best signings, the truth is that he shouldn’t have been given the opportunity to sign him in the first place.