Gary Neville: Matic can replace Manchester United captain Carrick
Former Manchester United legend Gary Neville was speaking to Sky Sports on how the club needed a player like Carrick and got that in Nemanja Matic.
Throughout pre-season it became clear quite quickly how Manchester United were struggling without a real defensive midfielder on the field and Mourinho has brought in a trusted Premier League winner in Matic, with Neville agreeing it’s a shrewd buy.
“Michael Carrick’s obviously got one more year but he can’t play every single week so they’ve got to have that player come in and do the same job. I believe Nemanja Matic can do that. United need a holding midfield player. [Morgan] Schneiderlin was let go earlier this year, [Bastian] Schweinsteiger didn’t get a game.” he said.
Neville continued, “There needed to be a replacement in there and ultimately I think Matic will fit the bill. It’s a strange one for Chelsea to let him go because I thought he was good for them with Kante and I think they need to strengthen. So I’m not sure why he’s been let go so they must have replacements in hand.”.
As strange a decision it was for Chelsea to weaken themselves and strengthen a direct rival, there were suggestions that Matic forced the move to Manchester United despite the Blues trying to push him in the direction of Italian giants Juventus. However, Conte perhaps feels that his Premier League winning team is strong enough to challenge again.
With the signing of Bakayoko it may be that the Chelsea manager feels as though he’s already gotten Matic’s replacement and it’s unlikely any other set of players will challenge a Bakayoko-Kante midfield partnership. The signing of Matic, though, adds considerable strength to a Mourinho team looking to prove themselves.
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The Manchester United manager has proven himself adept at plugging holes in the team and has done so again with the big Serbian. Unlike predecessors Moyes and Louis Van Gaal who seemed to have a strange transfer market policy, Jose knew exactly what the team needs and who he wants to buy to fulfil that role.
With many Red Devil fans happy about the relatively young age of the squad and the exciting times ahead, it still made sense to bring in a little experience in the form of a Premier League winner. It appears that Mourinho has weakened his former club twice now this transfer window with reports claiming he stole Lukaku from right under the Blues noses.
Next: How Manchester United could lineup with Nemanja Matic
Gary Neville has been hailed as an astute, analytical pundit and he has never been shy of criticising Manchester United before. If he thinks that Matic fits the bill and can take the team to the next level then fans can be excused for getting carried away with Mourinho’s third signing of the transfer window.