Football is a funny old game. When Chelsea won the Premier League title in 2015, Serbian defensive midfielder Nemanja Matic was regarded as one of the key players in their title triumph.
The midfielder failed to impress in his first spell at Chelsea so moved on and started to mature at Benfica. Then-Blues boss Jose Mourinho decided to spend big to bring the influential star back to Stamford Bridge.
In their title-winning campaign he was so highly regarded that he was considered one of the best players in his position in European football. He protected the Blues back four expertly and made Mourinho’s team very hard to break down.
Last season was an unmitigated disaster for Matic and everybody at Chelsea really. However, Matic’s poor form was the most noticeable, because he has performed so well in the previous campaign.
He produced some woeful displays that saw the Blues become highly vulnerable in defence. At one stage he was taken out of the firing line by Mourinho’s replacement Guus Hiddink and dropped to the bench.
It was thought that the arrival of Hiddink would spark Matic into better performances, but it just did not happen. Chelsea’s Italian boss Antonio Conte has talked about Matic being an important player, but it is difficult to see the Serbian regaining his top form at Stamford Bridge.
Italian champions Juventus have been heavily linked with a move for the much-criticised defensive midfielder. Maybe a move elsewhere is what Matic needs to revive his flagging fortunes.
The only saving grace at Chelsea could be that Conte knows the defensive midfield position well from his playing days. He may well be able to inspire an improvement in the star.
Matic cannot continue in the same vein as last season or he could once again find himself ousted from the Chelsea starting line-up and warming the Blues bench.