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14 Chances Created, 88% Pass Accuracy – Why This Chelsea Superstar Will Have A Good Time Under Conte

Namanja Matic plays as a defensive midfielder for Chelsea and the Serbian national team. He first moved to Chelsea from MFK Kosice in 2009 for a fee of around 1.5 million pounds. He was hardly used in his first season and  therefore was loaned to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem for the second. Following that in 2011, he moved to Benfica for a deal that involved David Luiz going the other way. It was at Benfica where Matic rose to fame for his splendid performances. Under the Benfica coach, he transformed from a playmaker to a defensive midfielder and that made him a better footballer altogether. He had a splendid 3 seasons with the Portuguese side and was named the Primiera Liga player of the year in his second season. He also helped Benfica win the league in his 3rd season with them. Following that Chelsea came back and bought him this time for a fee of 25 milion Euros.

He had a brilliant first season at Chelsea. On his first Premier League start for Chelsea, he was named the man of the  match. He was influential for Chelsea both in England and Europe and scored the only goal in the away fixture against Sporting CP. He also scored the only goal in the 1-1 draw against NK Maribor later in the competition. He is good on the ball, brilliant in passing and great at breaking opponents play. He became one of the best defensive midfielders that EPL had to offer. Following his impressive performances, he was named in the PFA Team of the Year.

However, in the current season, Matic hasn’t been able to live up to his form of the last season. He has shown a little bit glimpses of his old form at times but more often than not he had average performances. He is also considered as one of the reasons why Chelsea had a huge dip in form in the first half of the season. But, with Dutchman Guus Hiddink coming in, Matic seems to have had a fresh breath of life and his performances have picked up since January. He has started producing more than average performances and at times has looked good in the second half of the season. With 7 more matches to go, Matic can end the season on a high if he continues to improve like he has done since January.

But with the major slump in his form in the first half of the season, there are few questions about him that has come to minds of many. Should he leave? Will Conte prefer him? Should Chelsea sell him off? Well, personally I don’t feel that he will leave or Chelsea will sell him off. On a whole he had a brilliant 1st season and may end up having a decent 2nd season. Plus Conte is a manager who is known for his defensive supremacy. In Matic, Conte will have a man who can be a shield in front of his defence. Matic will fit in well in a Conte managed team. Despite the average season that he has had this season, he has still created 14 chances and has had an average pass accuracy of 88%. He has completed 1138 passes this season with 76% of them being forward passes. Last season he had an average pass accuracy of 86% and created 24 chances.

At 27, he is still tipped to reach his prime form in some time and I wouldn’t be amazed if he did that next year. A tall and astute central defensive midfielder who has playmaking roots is one which any team will cherish. He is an asset and given proper management will yield great returns. Matic is also good in the air and wins most of his aerial duels. Having known Conte and his defence induced style of play, he will be looking to make Matic a pivot in his midfield. Conte is known to be a huge fan of trying different formations and laying more emphasis on his central midfielders.

With fresh management arriving at Chelsea at the end of the current season and with Matic slowly starting to regain his old lost form, it can be safe to assume that Nemanja Matic will be at Chelsea next season.