Nemanja Matic Wants Showdown Talks With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer After Losing Man Utd Place

Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic is said to have ‘demanded showdown talks’ with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after losing his place in the team to Scott McTominay this season.


Matic was in and out of the side at the back-end of last season as McTominay cemented his place in the first-team, and is yet to play a single minute of football in 2019/20.

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According to the Daily Mirror, Matic is keen to discuss the situation with Solskjaer and an exit before transfer windows in Europe close on 2 September doesn’t appear to have been ruled out.

There are supposedly a ‘number of sides’ on the continent monitoring the Serbian international with a view to a possible loan switch before the approaching transfer deadline. Exactly who remains unclear, but clubs in Italy, France, Spain and Germany can still bring new players in.

Matic was a short-term revelation when he first joined United from Chelsea in the summer of 2017, making a superb start to the campaign. But the 31-year-old two-time Premier League champion hasn’t been at his best for a long while and was poor during pre-season games.

United have lost both Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini from central midfield in recent months, but the emergence of McTominay and Andreas Pereira has ensured that competition for places remains. Very highly rated teenager James Garner is also on the fringes of the first team.

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The Times additionally reports that Brazilian midfielder Fred won’t be leaving Old Trafford in the coming days. The newspaper notes Fiorentina were interested, but United don’t wish to sell. That decision will make it even more difficult for Matic to get game time.

Fred had a decidedly mixed first season in England following his £52m transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk last summer. The 26-year-old struggled to adapt and a handful of very good performances, including against Paris Saint-Germain, were outweighed by too many poor ones.

Fred missed United’s pre-season tour over the summer because he was getting married, losing an opportunity to make his mark, but the three-time Ukrainian Premier League winner is expected to play a part this season once he returns to full match fitness.

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Matic isn’t the only established name to have been frozen out by Solskjaer in favour of a new direction with younger talent. Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo are yet to even make it into a matchday squad, with Axel Tuanzebe preferred as the spare centre-back on the bench.


Source : 90min