Jose Mourinho confirmed that Nemanja Matic wants ‘very, very much’ to join Manchester United after a picture of the player undergoing a medical at the club was leaked.
The Chelsea midfielder is set to complete a £40m reunion with Mourinho in the near future and Sportsmail understands that the shot – which showed Matic in United training kit – is authentic.
However, speaking after his side coasted to a 3-0 friendly victory over Valerenga in Oslo, Mourinho declined to confirm that the move had been sealed.
‘I am waiting for news,’ he said. ‘I know that he (Matic) wants that very, very much. When a player wants it very, very much, the chance is bigger. I think we have a chance but in football until it’s official – I saw so many things happen that I refuse to say more than I am telling you now.’
Despite paying a hefty fee – which could rise to £45m – for a player who turns 29 on Tuesday, Mourinho will be delighted to have prized what he sees as a key asset away from his old employers.
When shown the picture, which captured Matic in United training kit bearing the vacant number 31, Mourinho responded: ‘I don’t know because I was not there. Number 31 is a free number.’
Some may be surprised that the west London club are allowing the midfielder to move to a direct Premier League title rival, especially in light of manager Antonio Conte’s comments last week that he wanted to avoid ‘a Jose Mourinho season’.
The Italian was referring to the disastrous 2015-16 campaign, when Mourinho’s Chelsea collapsed after winning the title and the manager was sacked with the team in 16th. When asked for his reaction to Conte’s quote, Mourinho was unimpressed.
‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘I could answer in many different ways but I am not going to lose my hair to speak about Antonio’s comments.’
One player who will not be moving is Marouane Fellaini, who scored the first goal at a rainy Ullevaal Stadion with a powerful, deflected header.
The big Belgian had been linked with a move to Turkish giants Galatasaray, but Mourinho was quick to set the record straight.
‘It is easier for Galatasaray to get me than Marouane,’ he said. ‘Marouane – forget it. He’s very important for me.’
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