Former £40m man may make Premier League return after 2022 Manchester United exit

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Nemanja Matic could be in line for a return to the Premier League two years after leaving Manchester United with Fulham keen on ending his troubled stint in France.

A situation which has been bubbling beneath the surface for a while finally exploded this week, Nemanja Matic’s Stade de Rennais spell blowing up as gossip, mud-slinging and bitter public statements reigned down like lava and debris.

According to Get France Football News, Matic feels Rennes are guilty of ‘unkept promises’. The club, in turn, accused Matic of skipping training – something he denies – while describing the midfielder’s recent behaviour as ‘incomprehensible’.

Former Man United man could return to England

Now, the veteran Serbian certainly sounded like a man looking to put water under the bridge on Instagram, accepting his share of the blame for a rather sorry situation while explaining that he and Rennes will decide on ‘the next steps’ together.

But has the damage been done? Is it too late for the relationship between player and club to be fully repaired? If the answer is ‘yes’, then do not rule out the prospect of seeing a player Manchester United let go in the summer of 2022 returning to English soil for one last Premier League hurrah.

According to Gianluca di Marzio, there is interest from Fulham.

it is not beyond the realms of possibility, then, that Man United could find themselves coming up against a familiar face when Marco Silva’s side arrive at Old Trafford in late-February.

Red Devils once paid £40 million

Matic, a £40 million signing from Chelsea in the summer of 2017, spent five years in Manchester before reuniting with Jose Mourinho in Roma for a season. He then moved on to Rennes last August, signing a two-year contract which – as things stand – looks destined to go unfulfilled.

Matic could become the latest in a long line of high-profile players who have represented both The Cottagers and The Red Devils, following in the footsteps of Edwin van der Sar, Dimitar Berbatov, Chris Smalling, Andy Cole and Luis Saha.