Former £40m Man United star signed by Jose Mourinho wants to return to the Premier League

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Two years after leaving Old Trafford, former Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic is now targeting a move back to the Premier League.

A year into Jose Mourinho‘s reign as Manchester United boss, the Portuguese manager was on the lookout for a defensive midfielder.

He set his sights on Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic, who he had previously worked with during his time at Stamford Bridge.

The Red Devils ended up signing Matic in a £40m deal from Chelsea in 2017, and the Serbian midfielder ended up spending five years at Old Trafford.

Matic made 189 appearances for United across all competitions before leaving to join Roma in 2022 after his contract expired.

Nemanja Matic now wants Premier League return

Matic spent the peak years of his career in the Premier League, and at certain points he was one of the best holding midfielders in the division.

He won two Premier Leagues during his time at Chelsea but he had started to decline when he joined United aged 29.

Now at 36 years old, The Mirror report that Matic is “keen to return” to England two years after his United exit.

Matic spent one season at Roma under Mourinho and one at Rennes after leaving United, before joining Ligue 1 side Lyon in January 2024. Matic made a huge impact at Lyon, winning 13 of his first 16 games at the club.

He signed a two-and-a-half-year deal in France, but is reportedly pushing to move back to England. Matic was linked with a move to Fulham earlier this year before he ended up at Lyon.

Nemanja Matic at Manchester United

Matic was signed by Mourinho to add some experience and mettle to United’s midfield, and he did just that.

However, he was never a long-term solution in midfield and a £40m deal was steep for a player entering the twilight years of his career.

READ MORE: Nemanja Matic believes Manchester United made ‘mistake’ selling £30 million ace

But one thing Matic did do was bring a winning mentality to the side. He quickly became a leadership figure in the dressing room and helped to set high standards off the pitch for a lot of the younger players coming through the ranks.

Matic ended his time at United trophyless, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted he made a huge mistake by not bringing him off the bench in the Europa League final against Villarreal.