Manchester United ‘closing in’ on Chelsea midfielder; deal could be done within a week — report

Rumors linking Nemanja Matić with Manchester United have once again re-emerged over the past several days as Chelsea finalize the Tiemoué Bakayoko signing — though apparently negotiations over wages and personal terms continue there — and the 22-year-old’s arrival is seen as a likely death knell to Matić’s Chelsea career, especially if someone were to meet his £40m valuation.

Mourinho had been linked to a reunion with his former midfielder for most of the month, if not before, and there were even rumors of a verbal agreement last week, though those were apparently debunked by United a day later.

Still, here comes ESPN to claim that the deal remains alive and well. “Closing in” can mean a lot of things of course, and it could also be the case that United are waiting to see how the Fabinho situation works out at Monaco.

As with most of Chelsea’s transfer rumors these days, this one also has the feeling of just waiting for some dominoes to fall.