CHELSEA may regret selling midfielder Nemanja Matic to Manchester United, says Mario Melchiot.
Matic is understood to be on the verge of switching Stamford Bridge for Old Trafford this summer in a £40million deal.
The move will see the Serbia international link up with manager Jose Mourinho again.
Mourinho brought Matic back to Chelsea from Benfica three-and-a-half years ago in a £21m deal, winning the Premier League and League Cup together in the 2014/15 campaign.
And former Chelsea defender Melchiot believes Chelsea will regret selling the 28-year-old midfielder to a domestic rival.
“He was very crucial in some games Chelsea played last season and I think he did extremely well, even if he wasn’t starting every game,” he told talkSPORT.
“There was a good balance in the midfield, sometimes with him or Fabregas next to Kante.
“You don’t want to make your rivals stronger, especially in the midfield where Jose Mourinho is always focused on having a strong midfield.
“If he [Conte] makes the choice to let him go to Man United, he better have good backing because, if not, it might come back and bite you later.”
Matic, who has made 154 appearances for Chelsea over two spells, played a crucial part in the Blues’ Premier League title success last term.
But Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is keen to offload Matic in order to raise funds for Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko, who is expected to cost £35m.
Source:www.express.co.uk