Nemanja Matic has been left out of Chelsea’s pre-season tour — report

Further indication of Nemanja Matic’s impending exit comes from a report in the Times, which claims that the midfielder has been left out of Chelsea’s Tour of Asia that is set to start next week.

Matic has been training at the same time as the rest of the team but separately from the rest since the first day of pre-season, which has generally been taken as a strong indication that his future lies away from the club. There is strong interest in him from Manchester United, while Inter and Juventus are possible options as well. (The Arsenal swap deal for Oxlade-Chamberlain, as with most swap deal rumors, is nonsense.)

Matic thus joins Diego Costa on the “to be sold” shelf, with neither player expected to travel with the team — unless something drastic changes with either player, such as Conte convincing Matic to stay like last summer, especially now that Chalobah has gone.

Eden Hazard, on the other hand, could join just to hang out as he starts his recovery from an ankle fracture.

Chelsea are expected to fly out on Tuesday, July 18, with the first game in Beijing, against Arsenal, scheduled for the 22nd.