Nemanja Matic rejoined Chelsea in 2014 and stamped his authority at the Club by claiming the Man of the Match award at his first Premier League start against Manchester City, helping Chelsea end City’s then unbeaten run at the Etihad Stadium. His role at Manchester United could be quite different from the one he was playing at the Bridge. He might be required to be more defensive. Unlock United’s thus passively imaginative frontline.

Defensive role of Matic

6ft and 4 inches is always an advantage to have at the center of the park. It gives the team that big presence in the middle. While Matic won 60% of his aerial duels, Herrera managed to win 64%. Jose should definitely expect an improvement from the Serbian. Matic used those long legs of his to make 9 crucial blocks in front of the Chelsea goal and his blocks were certainly one of the key reasons for the clean sheets that the Blues managed during the 2016/17 season. Matic made 241 recoveries which is a good 20 more than what Paul Pogba managed. He also won 65% of his tackles and if he could use those tackles to instigate attacks, then with the likes of Herrera and Pogba, come May 2018, United could well have their hands on the Premier League title.

Matic on the Attacking end

N’golo Kante gave Matic a lot of freedom to attack and he made the most of it by providing 7 assists which is more than what Herrera and Pogba could manage individually. Matic made 43 touches inside the opponent’s penalty area compared to the 28 managed by Herrera. The Serbian is also known for his long balls and he has a better long pass success rate (69%) when compared to his United team mates (Pogba, Herrera and Fellaini).

What does Matic’s transfer mean to Draft Fantasy managers?

Among Matic’s counter parts, Pogba was owned by 67% of the Draft Fantasy managers. He scored 101 draft points. On the other hand, Matic was owned just by 23% of the Draft Fantasy managers and was drafted in the 102nd round. He managed to record 104 draft points. This number will definitely come down and the Serbian could very well be drafted earlier given the introduction of Kante rule.

If Matic can replicate half of what Kante did during the 2016/17 season, the workload on Pogba and Herrera would reduce by a huge amount and Mourinho’s men could very well go past the 85 point mark which Arsene Wenger has projected his team to get, to win the league title.