Jose Mourinho is set to sign Nemanja Matic for a third time, with the defensive midfielder joining Roma for free after leaving Manchester United this summer.
Matic previously worked with Mourinho at Chelsea during both the player and manager’s second spell at Stamford Bridge, winning the Premier League together in 2015.
After winning another title with the Blues, this time under Antonio Conte, he moved to Manchester United to once again work with the Portuguese coach in 2017 although in his five-year stay at Old Trafford he was unable to win any silverware.
And now, Sky Sports Italia has reported that the Serbian international has agreed a one-year deal with Roma, with an option for a further year depending on appearances.
In May, when it was announced that Matic was not renewing his United contract and was preparing to leave the club, Mourinho remained coy when asked about the possibility of signing the 33-year-old.
He said: ‘Everyone knows my relationship with Nemanja. He’s one of the guys with my trust. We won together, we fought together – in United too.
‘He’s a fantastic player, but that’s a kind of answer that is not good for me or for the player.’
Mourinho already has a couple of former United players in his Roma squad, namely defender Chris Smalling and attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan although the latter is said to be heading to Inter Milan.
Matic is the latest ex-Premier League player to head to Italy’s capital, with Rui Patricio and Tammy Abraham joining from Wolves and Chelsea respectively last summer, while Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin has also been linked with a switch to Serie A this summer.
Mourinho became Roma manager last year following his sacking from Tottenham, and in his first season in charge guided the club to sixth in the league and became the inaugural champions of the Europa Conference League.
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