From WAGHN:
The notable difference in the player from three years ago is the precision with which he now operates. He now reads the game considerably faster than he did three years ago, and his passing has become far more accurate as a result. Instead of either holding the ball too long or simply getting rid of it as soon as receiving it, Matic is now making excellent quick decisions on what to do and moving the ball in short order. He's not a dynamic distributor in the style of
Andrea Pirlo, but he's certainly not going to be someone that we complain "only passes it sideways".
He's always been very aggressive in his defending, but his total fouls and cards have remained about the same while the amount of challenges he's attempting have nearly doubled. He'll likely always be the sort of player that flirts with yellow card suspensions, but that's more because of the volume of challenges he's involved in as opposed to overly reckless play.
I was fairly high on Matic when we parted ways with him three years ago, and nothing has changed with the player in that time to make me change my thinking. Central midfielders tend to reach their peak at a later age than many other positions, as elite athleticism is less important than good decision making in congested areas. At just 25, there's very little reason to believe that Matic's best seasons are still in front of him, and he's likely to still be improving for at least another season or two.
If you want a perfect example of this, just look at Yaya Toure. The Ivorian was always a gifted physical specimen, but didn't move to a top club until joining Barcelona at the age of 24. His best years clearly came after joining
Manchester City at the age of 27 though, and he's still going strong at 30. In addition, size and strength players tend to age very well, far more than players who rely solely on their explosiveness.
Matic has a very similar profile to Yaya, an elite, massive athlete that's developing into a very good decision maker. He's the kind of player that can be used in any number of roles, and can give you a matchup nightmare in the midfield without having to overload numbers in order to achieve that. Like Yaya, Matic is an exceptional athlete, and he can lose a step and still be superior to many central midfielders in that regard. If you've been drooling over the tank Manchester City have had bossing the midfield for the past several years, there aren't many young players that profile him more closely right now than Nemanja Matic.
The player would compliment our current under 30 options very well. With Ramires, he'd provide a pair that cover immense amounts of ground, challenge for every ball in the midfield, and allow the attacking band to worry less about covering for the pivot. With Mikel, he'd give Chelsea a physically imposing pair, capable of easily putting games to bed. Marco van Ginkel is a bit of a wildcard, as many Chelsea fans haven't yet seen enough of him to know what he brings to the table. Matic would seemingly fit with the him as well though, either as a pivot partner or in a three-man midfield.