Manchester United eye move for Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic

Jose Mourinho is keen to sign Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic in a bid to shore up his Manchester United midfield. The player was signed by the Portuguese manager during his time in Chelsea and wants to reunite with the Serbian at Old Trafford to partner Paul Pogba in midfield.

The Mirror reports that Mourinho has earmarked Matic as a replacement for Morgan Schneiderlin, who signed for Everton last week. Michael Carrick is also approaching the end of his career and Mourinho believes that Matic has what it takes to lead the Red Devils closer to the title.

The Blues are currently reeling under the transfer speculation over Diego Costa, who has been heavily linked with a move to the Chinese Super League. The striker was left out of the squad in their 3-0 win over Leicester City, raising concerns over his future and United's pursuit of Matic, who has established himself as an important part of the Blues, will come as another major concern for Antonio Conte.

Mourinho has told chief negotiator Ed Woodward about his main targets for next season and wants to get his business done early so as to start the campaign with his squad settled. The manager wants four players before the start of next season.

Meanwhile, the Red Devils suffered a major title blow as they fell 12 points behind leaders Chelsea following their draw with Liverpool at Old Trafford.

Paul Pogba's handball in the penalty box led Michael Oliver to award a penalty from which James Milner scored from the spot to give Liverpool the lead. Zlatan Ibrahimovic came to the Red Devils' rescue late in the second half with his 14th goal of the campaign, level with Alexis Sanchez and Diego Costa as the most prolific goalscorer in the league.