Nemanja Matic to have medical at Manchester United in the next 48 hours ahead of £40m switch from Chelsea
Antonio Conte has lined up his replacement in Monaco's Tiemoue Bakayoko
NEMANJA MATIC will undergo a medical at Manchester United in the next 48 hours.
The Chelsea midfielder is set to reunite with former boss Jose Mourinho in a deal worth £40million.
Matic is expected to pocket around £155,000-a-week at Old Trafford as Chelsea line up his replacement in Monaco's Tiemoue Bakayoko.
The 28-year-old was signed by the Portuguese boss for £21m in January 2014 where he helped guide Chelsea to the Premier League title.
And he is set to replace veteran Michael Carrick, who turns 36 next month, in the heart of midfield.
The deal is expected to be delayed whilst Mourinho remains in Portugal mourning the loss of his father who died on Sunday.
Nemanja Matic - midfielder who scored an FA Cup final wonder goal
- Born in Sabac, Serbia, in August, 1988.
- He began his career aged five at Vrelo, where he was coached by his father, just 500m from his house.
- In 2005 he signed for Serbian club Kolubara, and then moved to Slovakian side Kosice in 2007.
- He spent time on trial at Middlesbrough before Chelsea beat Sunderland and Tottenham to sign him in August 2009 for £1.5million.
- After two first team games, Chelsea sent him on loan to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem.
- In January 2011 Matic was sold to Benfica along with £21million in exchange for Brazil defender David Luiz.
- He flourished at Benfica, was named Portuguese Player of the Year and reached the Europa League final, where they were beaten by Chelsea.
- In January 2014, Chelsea, under manager Jose Mourinho, signed him back for £21million, and he made his second Chelsea debut against Man Utd.
- He has won two Premier League titles in three seasons at Chelsea, and last season played 40 games, scoring twice including a stunning strike in the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham.
- Matic is a strong tackling defensive midfielder who is tactically disciplined and at 6ft 4in tall is very good in the air.
- His brother Uros is also a professional footballer, with FC Copenhagen.
- He is married to childhood sweetheart Aleksandra, who he met at school, and they have two children.
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But if Matic passes his medical as expected, he will become a Manchester United player before their pre-season tour of the USA on July 9.
The deal also means Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is on the verge of completing a deal to land tough tacking midfielder Bakayoko.
The 22-year-old has already agreed to sign for the Premier League champions on a four-year deal after having a £35m bid accepted by the French outfit.
Manchester United were also thought to be in the chase for Bakayoko but it is believed he would rather play under Conte than Mourinho.