Marko Grujic: Nemanja Matic said Chelsea are interested in me

Earlier this week, Serbian midfielder Marko Grujic told Gazzetta dello Sport that he would like to play in Italy before moving to a big club like Chelsea. In another recent interview, the player reaffirmed his thoughts on the matter, although his likely destination has changed from the previous report:

"After Tuesday's game with Slovenia, I will speak to [Inter team manager Dejan] Stankovic."

"He already called me three weeks ago and told me to continue like this, because Inter are following my progress. At the end of the season I'll be in Milan for talks. Inter are a possible destination."

"Right now I am at Red Star, we are top of the table and I want to win the title here. After that, I can come to Italy. I don't think that I'll be moving in January, but there's definitely more of a chance in June."

Grujic also revealed that Chelsea midfielder and fellow countryman Nemanja Matic tipped him on Chelsea's interest for his services:

"Nemanja Matic is a friend, he's Serbian and he has been at Chelsea for over a year. He tells me that they want me."

"I always watch Serie A and the Premier League on TV. Paul Pogba is certainly my favourite player. In my view, Inter, Roma and Juventus are the best in Serie A."

"As for myself, I think I can become the best young player in Serbia."

-Marko Grujic; Source: Gazzetta dello Sport via Football Italia

The player's own words only confirm that his most likely destination is the Italian Serie A, either by joining Roma or Inter Milan or whoever might wink at him the right way tomorrow.  There are plenty of big name clubs left to name-drop, plenty of big name players to name-check.  At least the kid's ambitious, right?

But by the looks of it, this is only one of the steps he wants to take towards his goals. The career plan is sound though hardly risk-free, as the current interest in him will vanish quickly if he fails to reproduce his skills at a higher level of football. Still, he seems pretty confident in his abilities; and only time will tell whether he's making the right choice now.