Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho regards Nemanja Matic as the best player he's ever worked with as a manager.
The 54-year-old brought Matic to Old Trafford for £40 million from Chelsea in July, which is proving to be on the best pieces of business this summer following the inflated transfer fees in modern day football.
This is the second time the pair have worked together, as they spent two seasons together at Stamford Bridge from 2013 to 2015. During this stint they won the Premier League and the League Cup.
The Serbian international has been a revelation during the early stages of his Old Trafford career, with his defensive steel in midfield offering greater protection to United's backline and the opportunity for Paul Pogba to push further forward.
His performances have been instrumental in the Reds fine start to the season, as they currently sit top of the Premier League on 10 points after four games.
Mourinho was full of praise for Matic, as he recalled the moment he subbed the player during a game at Chelsea having brought him on at half-time.
He told The Times: “Matic, I cannot say that I had better guys than him in my career, he has with me something which marks forever, which was a match where he was on the bench, I play him minute 45 and I took him off minute 70, 75.
“He was really sad. I was also sad because it’s not something nice and it’s something that I did only twice in my career.
“But the next day he comes to me and he says, ‘I’m not happy, but it’s my fault. I’m not happy with what you did to me, but it’s my fault, because the way I was playing I can understand the change. So let’s keep going’.
“We didn’t keep going for a long time because a few weeks later I was sacked.
“But again he was one of ‘my guys’, was one of the guys that we kept close during these years even not working together. So I know that the big man is there, even with more maturity.”
Matic has his sights set on becoming a champion once again under Mourinho, as he targets the Premier league trophy this season for United.
However, the 29-year-old declared the Reds need to win games like the recent 2-2 draw with Stoke if they want to be top of the league in May.
He told MUTV: "“It was a tough game. “To be honest, it’s always a tough game when you come to this stadium. Stoke are a good team, so it was difficult, but we managed to get a point.
“If we want to be champions, we have to win games like this because in these games, if you win, you are champion.
“We have to know against teams like this you have to have a little bit more, you have to be concentrated and of course we’re not happy with a point.”
