Juventus line up Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic to replace Paul Pogba if he moves to Manchester United

NEMANJA MATIC has emerged as a target for Italian giants Juventus as a replacement for Paul Pogba if he moves to Manchester United.

After a good start to his second spell at Stamford Bridge in his first season Matic, 27, struggled last season and is deemed surplus to requirements this season.

And after today’s £30m signing of N’Golo Kante from Leicester, a similarly combative player to Matic, Juve have moved quickly to try and secure his signature.

Talks are ongoing between United and Pogba‘s agent Mino Raiola, with Old Trafford bosses hoping to complete any deal for the French midfielder this weekend ahead of a world-record £105m fee.

According to ESPN, Juve enquired about signing the Serbian international only to be told by Chelsea that he would not be sold until they knew whether they were going to sign a midfielder themselves – until Kante joined today.

So Chelsea are now prepared to listen to offers for Matic and may sell for an offer in the region of £15m.

United themselves had previously been interested in Matic – with new boss Jose Mourinho a big fan of the player having worked together at Chelsea – but diverted their attention to Pogba once it was made clear that they had a chance of signing the Frenchman.