Nemnja Matic left Chelsea to sign for Manchester United and former Blues midfielder Frank Lampard has suggested why.
Chelsea legend Frank Lampard has offered reasons why his former club sold midfielder Nemanja Matic to rivals Manchester United.
Lampard has also admitted his surprise in seeing Nemanja Matic leave Stamford Bridge.
The Serbian left Stamford Bridge in a £40million deal to link back up with Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford.
From the outside it didn't seem as if Chelsea put up much of a fight when trying to convince the midfielder to stay, signing Monaco star Tiemoue Bakayoko in his place.
But Lampard isn't convinced this is strictly true, and believes the player himself was keen on the move more than his former club.
"I was surprised to see him move to United and maybe there is more to this deal than we realise," Lampard told Yahoo Sports.
"I heard whispers at the back end of last season that he wanted to go and even if the club cannot come out and say too much about that, maybe there was an element of that in play here when this deal went through.
"You get the feeling that Chelsea didn't really want Matic to go, but players can push for a move at times and that is why this deal feels different compared to Petr Cech's move from Chelsea to Arsenal a couple of years back.
"Petr had done such a lot for the club, Thibaut Courtois had come in and it would have been harsh to stop him moving to Arsenal when he was so settled in London, but this is different.
"Matic was a big player for Chelsea last season and even though they have sign players to replace him, he is going to be missed and possibly just as significantly, he strengthens Manchester United, there is no doubt about that."
