Chelsea close in on Matic capture
Chelsea are reportedly closing in on the signing of Serbian starlet Nemanja Matic in a deal worth £5 million.
The 21-year-old - who has already made two appearances for the senior national team - has made 66 league outings for MFK Kosice, netting four times, since arriving from Kolubara Lazarevac in 2007.
He was set to star at this summer's U21 European Championships in Sweden, only for a broken metatarsal injury sustained in Serbia's opener against Italy to end his tournament prematurely.
However, the setback failed to quash speculation linking the youngster with a string of English sides - including Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Fulham.
According to Matic himself, Chelsea had won the race for his signature, only for the Slovakian outfit to insist that no deal had been agreed to sell their prize asset to the Stamford Bridge outfit.
But the midfield marvel has now spoken to the press for a second time, again claiming that he is poised to join Carlo Ancelotti's men in West London.
"Chelsea are very interested about seeing me in their ranks. I've left the whole matter up to my agents. Everything will soon be finished,” he said in the Daily Express.
"There's a possibility I'll become a Chelsea player in the next few days.
"It's important that my club Kosice are satisfied. I have a contract with them for another one-and-a-half years and I hope it will end in the best possible way."
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Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.