Stamford Bridge side keen on rangy midfielder.
Check in to Transfer Window: Done Deal Alerts
Jose Mourinho has set his sights on Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic according to the Sunday Times.
The returning Chelsea boss is keen on reinforcing his midfield and sees the massive 6ft 4in Benfica man as the man for the job.
Matic two years at Stamford Bridge, one of which saw the rangy midfielder loaned out to Vitesse Arnhem, before he was sold to Benfica as part of the deal that saw Brazilian David Luiz move to Chelsea.
Ironically Mourinho is also ready to sell Luiz as he seeks to strengthen his defence, with Barcelona said to be keen on the Blues star.
Benfica value Matic at €30m (£25.7m) and that may well be a fee Roman Abramovich is willing to fork out for the fast improving 24 year old.
Matic could well be just one of a number of Jorge Jesus’s squad who could look to leave Benfica after a horrific end to the 2012/13 campaign that saw the Lisbon side lose the Primiera Liga title to FC Porto, the domestic cup final to Vitória de Guimarães and the Europa League final to Chelsea.
Nemanja Matic would probably be tempted by a return to Chelsea but only if he were given some guarantee of a more prominent role than his first spell at the West London club, during which he saw just 40 minutes of Premier League action.