What does Nemanja Matic bring to Chelsea?

On Wednesday, Chelsea completed the signing of Nemanja Matic from Benfica for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £21 million, three years after selling him in the opposite direction.

The Serbian midfielder signed a five-and-a-half-year deal with the Stamford Bridge club and will have a crucial role to play as the Blues try to scure their first Premier League title since the 2009-10 season. While, many say that Jose Mourinho’s side lack a goal scoring centre-forward, their lack of quality in front of the back four is atleast as much of a problem. The arrival of Matic should help with that.

Some fans will be confused by the deal. It’s the same player the Blues sent to the Portuguese outfit as a part of the deal that saw David Luiz arrive to Stamford Bridge in January 2011, and his value, at that time was just around €3 million. Now, Chelsea have bought him back for almost 10 times that, so what has changed? Perhaps, it’s the rapid and unforeseeable progression that has seen him become one of the best defensive midfielders in the world in the last two years. He has improved so much during his time in Portugal that he now justifies his big-money price tag, and is certain to improve Chelsea’s midfield.

When Matic first arrived at Benfica, he was used a lot in central or even attacking midfield, and generally sat on the bench behind Javi Garcia. But in the summer of 2012, the Portuguese side sold Garcia to Manchester City and then Axel Witsel to Zenit St Petersburg, and needed a new defensive midfielder. Matic stepped up and was drafted into the role, and instantly showed his class, with some consistent and impressive performances. That helped Benfica to forget about Garcia quickly.

Those watching the Premier League matches weekly won’t believe that Garcia was once Benfica’s main man in midfield considering how sub-par he has been for City, but in the Portuguese league, he showed enough to convince Manchester City and Roberto Mancini to spend £15 million on him. Matic has shown, he is even better. He is capable of dominating the midfield and starting out attacks from the back. He is a tough, clean tackler of the ball, reads the game well and spots danger as a good centre-back would do. In possession, he is extremely reliable, calm with ball in his feet and is an excellent distributor. He can also slow down the tempo of the game if needed and doesn’t try anything fancy. In short, he is very similar to Manchester United’s Michael Carrick.

Last season was Matic’s breakthrough year, as he helped Benfica to a second-place finish in the league, one point behind champions Porto; the final of the Europa League, which they lost to Chelsea in the last few minutes of the game; and the semi-finals of the Portuguese Cup. Despite winning no silverware, the Serbian was named the Portuguese Player of the Year. People in Portugal speak a lot of his performances saying that the £21 million fee that Chelsea paid is cheap for a player who could have easily been sold for £30 million or more in the current market.

At Chelsea, he walks into the side as the club’s No.1 defensive midfielder ahead of Ramires, John Obi Mikel, Frank Lampard, Marco van Ginkel and David Luiz. Lampard has been played a lot in that position alongside Ramires, but the Englishman is in the twilight of his career and doubts remain over his future with his contract expiring at the end of the season. Marco van Ginkel is out for the season with a knee injury, while Mourinho doesn’t want to play centre-back David Luiz in that position and Mikel doesn’t have the talent Matic has in any area of the game.

A partnership of Matic and Ramires just in front the of the back four looks to be perfectly balanced, with solidity and drive. At the same time, he has got the discipline to succeed in Mourinho’s system and will enjoy playing at the heart of the midfield. Chelsea fans will be hoping the Serbian can emulate the success of his compatriot Branislav Ivanovic at Stamford Bridge.