Chelsea star Nemanja Matic close to joining Manchester United in £40m deal

Matic has been a mainstay of the Chelsea teams which have won the title in two of the past three seasons but is now set to reunite with former manager Jose Mourinho after reports said personal terms had been agreed on top of his transfer fee.

Chelsea are closing in on Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko and intend to partner him with N’Golo Kante in the heart of Antonio Conte’s midfield.

That means Matic is expendable and with United looking for midfield reinforcements, the 28-year-old Serbia international was targeted by Mourinho.

Matic would bring United’s summer spending to £70m after they signed Sweden international centre-back Victor Lindelof from Benfica for £30m.