Defensive specialist Matic will free up Paul Pogba in attack

The summer transfer window in England has mostly been about new faces, and the excitement they generate. Yet, for Jose Mourinho familiarity has been the backbone of his recruitment strategy, with Nemanja Matic the latest face to arrive at Old Trafford.

Matic, 29, was originally signed as a playmaker by Chelsea in 2009 and struggled to break into the first team. Sat behind the likes Michael Ballack, Michael Essien and Frank Lampard, it was a switch to Benfica in 2011 that changed things dramatically for Matic. Working under the guidance of Jorge Jesus, the move to Portugal saw Matic change position to the one he now operates in.

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“Jorge Jesus told me: ‘You’re going to play like a defensive midfielder.’ And I said ‘me?’ He said: ‘Yeah, I think you can play better in that position.’ I worked every day tactically with him to improve,” the Serbian said in 2014. “I think I’ve improved a lot and also physically I train very hard every day. After training, I stay every day to work alone in the gym. It wasn’t easy because I had never played that position before. In the start I didn’t play so well, but Jorge Jesus believed in me, he believed in my quality, and kept saying: ‘Just do what I ask and slowly you will play better and better’. I did.”

Had Mourinho still been at Stamford Bridge when Matic joined the club he may have also moved the Serbian deeper. Throughout his own career the Portuguese has placed an emphasis on the role of defensive midfielders, specifically their importance in maintaining stability and balance.

During his first major success at Porto, it was not Deco or Maniche that he held so highly, but Costinha.

“He was an essential player because he spoke to me a great deal, and he liked to understand the practices, the whys and wherefores,” Mourinho said in his 2004 autobiography. “Thus, I had thought that in my absence, Costinha would be a vital player, as he would convey my ideas on the pitch. Costinha would basically be my ‘assistant coach’ on the pitch.”

That same appreciation presents itself throughout Mourinho’s time in management. Whether it was Matic, Xabi Alonso, or even Esteban Cambiasso. “I won the treble with Cambiasso,” said Mourinho in 2015. “He belongs to my golden team at Inter. He is one of the players who means a lot to me.”

While at Inter in 2008, he said of Cambiasso, “He thinks quickly and is tactical, he knows everything about football. He encourages teammates to press and helps the defenders in the centre.”

The relationship between Matic and Mourinho may have ended on a somewhat sour note — Mourinho publicly criticised Matic in his final months at Chelsea — but it did not change the appreciation he had for the Serbian. “He is very clean,” Mourinho said. “He recovers a lot of balls in a clean way, he doesn’t make fouls in dangerous positions.”

It is why Mourinho put such emphasis on signing a defensive midfielder this summer. Rarely did those players, be it Matic or Cambiasso, get the plaudits but they did free up those in front of them. Be it Wesley Sneijder or Deco, they all benefited from the presence of a shield and ‘stability’ as Mourinho puts it.

It is hoped that same benefit will be felt by Paul Pogba this season. Marouane Fellaini, a player that began his career with Standard Liege as a defensive midfielder, was tried in that some role, but lacked the technical quality and tactical understanding.

That’s why, when presented with a handful of potential candidates, Mourinho stuck with what he knew, much like he has with Romelu Lukaku. When Chelsea won the Premier League title under Mourinho in 2015, it was Matic that served as the shield to Cesc Fabregas. The Spaniard recorded an astonishing 18 assists in the Premier League that season, and so much of that was facilitated by Matic’s willingness to sit deep and cover.

Even as recently as last season, the Serbian was forming part of a formidable defensive midfield pairing with N’Golo Kante in Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3 formation. Mourinho is now eager for that same presence at Old Trafford, most likely in order to free Pogba. Evaluations on the 24-year-old’s first season at Old Trafford were always likely to be polarising given the size of his transfer fee.

However, irrespective of his performances it is fair to suggest that Man United’s midfield did not always look at its most productive. Facilitating the freedom that Pogba had at Juventus is now more attainable with Matic in the side.

Equally, Mourinho could operate with Matic and Ander Herrera as deeper midfielders, giving Pogba free license in the final third as a number 10, just as he did with Fabregas in 2015. It would likely maximise Pogba’s creativity and allow him to link up with Lukaku even more.

When Mourinho took over at Old Trafford last summer, Matic was linked with a move north to Old Trafford. A deal that was said to have been blocked by Antonio Conte, the Blues went on to win the Premier League that season with Matic a central figure. Mourinho will now hope that signing Matic will bring that ‘stability’ back to Old Trafford, and give Pogba the platform to truly perform.