A Reflection On Nemanja Matić’s Manchester United Career

The José Mourinho era was far from Manchester United’s brightest, but despite the criticisms of our transfer moves in those two-and-a-half years, quite a few of his signings actually became very key players for the club. One of the most key of those signings is the now-departing Nemanja Matić.

The Serbian midfielder, who’s name shares four out of five syllables with another famous Serb to have donned United red, was signed from rivals Chelsea in the summer of 2017 for around £40 million.

Him and the previous summer’s midfield signing Paul Pogba immediately hit it off, the two being at the heart of a 4-0 win over West Ham in United’s opening Premier League game. Matić was named Man of the Match and Pogba got on the scoresheet, and the two players between them completed 114 of United’s 493 passes on the day, as well as encompassing 13 dribbles between the two of them.

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The two would continue to dominate midfield battles in the coming weeks as United emerged as early title contenders, quickly becoming very close friends off the pitch too. United fans had hope upon his signing that Matić would be the defensive midfielder that could allow Paul Pogba to push further forward where he would do more damage, and the early weeks of the season showed a lot of signs that this would be the case. 

Across the 2017/18 season, Matić started 35 of United's 38 matches and came off the bench in one game, being one of our top performers across the course of the season. His most memorable moment was his last minute screamer against Crystal Palace to round off a 3-2 comeback win, and there aren't many better ways to score your first Manchester United goal than that.

2018/19, however, was not as strong. As a whole, the season for United was not a fairly poor one and Matić's performances saw a decline too. His legs started to look as though they were fading a bit, natural for a player who was now the flip side of 30, and there was even talk that United needed to replace him.

These concerns continued throughout the first half of 2019/20, where he did not play much in the first half of the season and many called for his sale. However, an injury to Scott McTominay against Newcastle on Boxing Day gave Nemanja another chance, and it’s more than fair to say he took it.

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United’s turnaround in the second half of the season is often attributed to the arrival of Bruno Fernandes in January, which in fairness is accurately attributed given his excellent impact upon signing for the club, but Matić’s impact often during said period goes unnoticed.

Whilst Fernandes gave the Red Devils new life in attack, Matić shored things up behind him, using his elite defensive positioning and anticipation to screen the backline. He also helped the club to move the ball forwards, often dropping to form a back three in possession and splitting lines with well-weighted passes and powerful carries.

His 14.4 progressive actions per 90 minutes in 2019/20 significantly bettered Fred’s 11.28 and McTominay’s 8.43, and his resurgence in the side improved United’s ability to play out from the back.

Post-lockdown, with Pogba returning from injury, the two rekindled their dominant partnership from the 17/18 season and United were the standout side in the league during Project Restart. 

In Matić’s final two seasons at United, these qualities and our otherwise lack of a natural defensive midfielder have meant that when he is available he is one of the very most important players in United’s side, with United often looking like a completely different side with him in the lineup.

One issue that became more prominent as time went on was with his physical decline as he’s aged he is increasingly unavailable, only starting 12 league matches in 2020/21 and 16 league matches in 2021/22. In these two years, like fellow departee Juan Mata, Matić has been of great value in the dressing room.

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Matić is a vastly experienced player and seen as a leader by his comrades, even having captained United on a few occasions. The coaches at the club have all valued his professionalism and application, despite not being as available as many would hope, he has always given his all when he has played for the club.

Nemanja Matić at Manchester United feels very much like a case of right player, wrong time. As a player, Matić fits United like a glove stylistically and ironically the best possible replacement for him would be a younger Matić. But sadly, time travel does not exist and so the club cannot sign 23 year old Nemanja Matić.

It is absolutely imperative that the club find a player who is able to replicate what he does on the pitch, as well as offering the kind of leadership he brings.

It is truly a shame that Manchester United fans never got to see Nemanja lift a trophy for the club, because he is certainly one of the players who deserved one.