It has been two years in the making, but finally Jose Mourinho will get to pair Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic together. For all the millions Manchester United have spent since the Portuguese coach took charge, this is the first signing that truly feels like it bears exclusively his fingerprints. The Serbian’s arrival offers the solidity and balance that Mourinho has craved, and which was so obviously missing in his first season at Old Trafford.

It has not come cheap though. At £40 million, the 29-year-old represents something of a gamble. But the midfield position has been as much of a priority for Mourinho as landing the goalscorer his side so desperately needed. Speaking earlier this summer, he outlined his desire to sign a player who would ‘give me more options to the balance and the team’.

Pogba is easily United’s most marketable player, though he has been denied the perfect stage to shine so far (Picture: Getty)
Pogba is easily United’s most marketable player, though he has been denied the perfect stage to shine so far (Picture: Getty)
Matic has been a mainstay of two Premier League title-winning teams during his three full seasons back at Chelsea (Picture: Getty)
Matic has been a mainstay of two Premier League title-winning teams during his three full seasons back at Chelsea (Picture: Getty)

Balance is the buzzword of every great Mourinho midfield. He needs a player to sit at the base to provide both protection for the defence behind him and freedom for the midfielders and forwards ahead. Solidity, reliability, control, they are the bedrock of Mourinho’s philosophy, and Matic is as versed in how the Portuguese thinks the game should be played as anyone, even if he lacks some of the star quality of his predecessors.

First, at Porto, Mourinho had Costinha, followed by Claude Makelele at Chelsea – ‘the tactical leader’ of the back-to-back champions, according to his manager. At Inter he could rely on the nous of Esteban Cambiasso, while at Real Madrid he had Xabi Alonso. Now, at United, as in his second spell at Stamford Bridge, he has Matic.

Footballers who have played for Jose Mourinho at more than one club

Ricardo Carvalho (Porto, Chelsea, Real Madrid)
Maniche (Benfica, Porto, Chelsea)
Derlei (Uniao de Leiria, Porto)
Nuno Valente (Uniao de Leiria, Porto)
Paulo Ferreira (Porto, Chelsea)
Hernan Crespo (Chelsea, Inter)
Michael Essien (Chelsea, Real Madrid)
Lassana Diarra (Chelsea, Real Madrid)
Samuel Eto’o (Inter, Chelsea)
Juan Mata (Chelsea, Man Utd)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter, Man Utd)
Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea, Man Utd)
Nemanja Matic (Chelsea, Man Utd)

For £40m, Mourinho gets a player who requires zero coaching or adaptation, who can slot in seamlessly and perform the role the side requires immediately. There is a degree of trust there between manager and player that cannot be easily reproduced – and he joins an exclusive list of players who have played for two different clubs under the so-called Special One.

When Matic spoke of his own qualities in his first interview with MUTV, he echoed his manager’s words: ‘In [my] position, the player needs to give balance to the team, needs to control the game, and that is exactly what I try to do. When you play in that position, in the centre of the pitch, you have to know every time where is the ball when you have the ball, and when you attack you have to know how to stop the opponents from making a counter-attack. In that position you must give balance always.’

Yet it would be remiss not to mention Mourinho’s loss of faith in Matic during Chelsea’s spectacularly bad title defence of two seasons ago – he was hauled off after 27 minutes against Southampton in October 2015 – while Antonio Conte wasted little time in signing a younger, more powerful and dynamic midfielder to replace him. But United’s needs are different, and they already have a far superior player in Pogba to fulfil the duties expected of Tiemoue Bakayoko.

Admittedly there are question marks over Matic’s form. He lacked his usual defensive dominance and looked leggy and ponderous on the ball last season, especially compared to the energetic N’Golo Kante. But in many ways the French destroyer forced Matic away from his more natural game, requiring him to be the more creative of the duo as Kante mopped up behind and passed with extreme caution.

That was born out in their respective numbers. Only two Chelsea players, Cesc Fabregas (12) and Pedro (9) recorded more assists than Matic (7) last season, but he made half as many tackles and interceptions as Kante. And, crucially, less than half as many as he made in his peak season when he anchored Chelsea to the title.

Mourinho on Matic after he returned to Chelsea

‘It is difficult [for Matic] to lose the ball. But at the same time he is not the kind of guy to play any square passes. He can do so and keep possession, but he can see the movement forward, look at the passing into space. He is very clean. He recovers a lot of balls in a clean way, he doesn’t make fouls in dangerous positions. I like him a lot because of his stability. He is a very stable player for someone who is still so young, only 25.’

Mourinho on Matic after he joined Man Utd

‘Nemanja is a Manchester United player and a Jose Mourinho player. He represents everything we want in a footballer; loyalty, consistency, ambition, team player. I would like to thank him for his desire to join us because without that, it would be impossible to have him here. I am sure our players and supporters will love him. A big welcome to our new No31.’

While Conte may be quite content to offload Matic, others will question the logic in allowing the Serbian to be reunited with a manager who enticed out his best form, will play him in his most suitable position, and who has long wanted to pair him alongside Pogba. Those behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge know only too well how fearsome Mourinho thinks they can be together.

In Chelsea’s ill-fated summer of 2015, Mourinho had made two players his priority signings: then Everton centre-back John Stones and Pogba. They signed neither. ‘I love the Eiffel Tower but I can’t have the Eiffel Tower in my garden,’ said Mourinho of his doomed pursuit of the Frenchman at the time. ‘I can’t even have the Eiffel Tower of Las Vegas.’

Fabregas and Matic were a ferocious pairing until their lack of mobility was exposed, initially by Spurs in a 5-3 win (Picture: Getty)
Fabregas and Matic were a ferocious pairing until their lack of mobility was exposed, initially by Spurs in a 5-3 win (Picture: Getty)

Back then, Chelsea’s midfield needed more dynamism. Mourinho foresaw the issues Matic and Cesc Fabregas’ pivot would eventually run in to, though could not convince the club’s decision makers to do anything about it. That pairing, and especially Fabregas, was simply too slow and lacked physicality, mobility and intensity when up against sides who pressed and harried.

But at Old Trafford, Matic will be accompanied by the power and direct running of Pogba, as well as Ander Herrera’s boisterous mix of hard work and continental craft. It is a formidable midfield trio, and allows Mourinho to revert to the 4-3-3 that has yielded so much success in his career. It also allows Pogba the freedom he has been yearning for.

Dream lineup: If Mourinho can also land his fourth and final signing, Ivan Perisic, then United will be truly fearsome next season (Pictures: Getty/Metro)

Although Pogba has been far more effective than some critics would claim since his world-record move from Juventus, his attacking play has been stilted by the need to track back and compete in the centre of the pitch. For all his attacking qualities, he can often be just a little bit ill-disciplined, especially when deployed in a central midfield two.

That is partly why Juventus brought Sami Khedira to Turin. The German fulfilled the role Mourinho will expect from Matic, sitting deeper and providing balance, as Pogba – now having assumed the No.10 shirt left behind by Carlos Tevez – played with greater abandon. At United he has been more of a playmaker, at Juve he was a flat-out match winner: eight goals, 12 assists and dominant displays on a weekly basis.

Pogba wears No.6 at United, but was handed the iconic Juventus No.10 shirt after Tevez returned to Boca Juniors (Picture: Getty)
Pogba wears No.6 at United, but was handed the iconic Juventus No.10 shirt after Tevez returned to Boca Juniors (Picture: Getty)
Alongside Pogba and Herrera, Matic can form an all-action, dynamic midfield trio as good as any in the Premier League (Picture: Getty)

Khedira, just as good at making passes as intercepting them, found Pogba more often and earlier, giving him space to drive into. Michael Carrick did the same thing in his occasional outings last season, averaging more passes into the world’s most expensive player than any other of his teammates. Matic, likewise, is a player whose eye-catching defensive skillset can blind people to his composure on the ball. He doesn’t just bring steel, he brings reliable, quick passing to get Pogba moving.

And that is when Pogba is at his most deadly, in transition, galloping forward armed with an array of weapons: a probing through-ball, a slaloming dribble, or one of the booming long-range efforts that have become his trademark.

In Matic, Pogba now has a player who can do his dirty work for him, possessed of both the defensive nous required to protect his centre-backs and stifle the opposition’s build-up, and the awareness to lead the team’s press and trigger fast attacks. United’s inability to both attack well and defend well simultaneously was embodied in Pogba, but Matic allows player and team to do both. On the surface he seems like a rather boring signing by Mourinho, but it is exactly that understated dependability that can be the foundation for fireworks next season.