Serbian U20 World Cup winner wants to be 'the new Matic', prefers Roma over Chelsea move

A little while ago, we reported on Chelsea and Manchester United transfer target Marko Grujic. Lauded as the newest Nemanja Matic, it was believed that the Blues were considering lodging a €4 million bid for the Red Star midfielder.

Chelsea aren't the only ones interested; Grujic has been linked with Italian clubs such as Inter Milan and Roma, and the player revealed which club he prefers at the moment:

"Already in January, something might happen. Roma were interested in me in the past, but I was too young and did not want to move."

"Now that I am a starter [for Red Star] I feel ready for an experience in a championship of superior level. Chelsea? I think for a young man like me it would be better first to play with Roma; I would like to be the new Matic"

-Marko Grujic; source: Gazzetta dello Sport via CalcioNews24

Grujic would probably see more time on the pitch at Roma than with Chelsea, and so his reasoning as to getting experience in Serie A first sounds like a smart move. Perhaps Grujic is looking to follow the ways of other Serbian players such as Andrija Zivkovic, Lazar Markovic and even Nemanja Matic himself, who all seem to prefer taking lots of smaller, progressive steps rather than making one big jump.