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Nemanja Matic is closing in on a return to Chelsea.
A fee believed to be in the region of £21m will see the Serbia international back at the club that valued him at £4m just a couple of years ago.
In those intervening years, Matic has excelled at Benfica, so much so Jose Mourinho believes the Blues made a mistake in letting him go as part of the deal to bring in David Luiz.
During his first spell at the club, Matic made just three appearances. So will things be better this time?
We take a look at ten memorable returns, and assess whether the players featured here were right to back to their former clubs.
Show all 14 1 /14The footballers who returned for a second spell at former clubs The footballers who returned for a second spell at former clubs Robbie Fowler After scoring 120 goals in 236 appearance for Liverpool, and becoming a Kop cult hero in the process, it was a fairy tale for most Anfield regulars when Robbie Fowler returned. Rafa Benitez made the call to bring the Kop legend back to the club and Fowler paid him back with 8 strikes in 30 games. While hardly prolific, his cult status remains firmly intact.
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The footballers who returned for a second spell at former clubs Thierry Henry The Arsenal legend returned to the Gunners on-loan in 2012 in an attempt to raise his fitness levels ahead of his next MLS campaign with the New York Red Bulls. In his first spell at the club, he became Arsenal's all-time leading league goal-scorer with 174 goals and leading all-time goal-scorer in European with 42 goals. He departed for Barcelona in 2007, due to his concern surrounding the future of Arsene Wenger, where he performed well but got overshadowed by the likes of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. Although his loan return to Arsenal was only two months long, he enjoyed a special moment when he scored a stoppage-time winner against Sunderland.
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The footballers who returned for a second spell at former clubs Mathieu Flamini It is no coincidence that the Frenchman's re-arrival at the Emirates has coincided with Arsenal's title challenge this season. Looking back to the 2007/08 season, the Gunners' last genuine championship push, Flamini was instrumental in that side. His partnership with Cesc Fabregas showcased a superb balance between defence and attack. He left Arsenal at the end of that season to join AC Milan on a free transfer, only to return last summer. If Arsenal do go on to win their first title since 2004, Flamini will not take the plaudits but his tenacity will be considered essential, as it allows his more technically gifted team-mates to go and play.
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The footballers who returned for a second spell at former clubs Paul Scholes Regarded as perhaps the finest central midfielder of his generation, Paul Scholes was convinced to return to Manchester United by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2012. After winning a host of medals, including the Premier League and Champions League, Scholes was able to help United along the way to one last title before finally retiring for good. Now a pundit and rumoured to be joining Louis van Gaal's coaching set-up, his ties to Old Trafford are still strong today.
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The footballers who returned for a second spell at former clubs Jermain Defoe Just one year after leaving Tottenham Hotspur for Portsmouth, Jermain Defoe was back at White Hart Lane in a £15m deal in 2009. While he went on to become the club's all-time record goalscorer in Europe, he divided opinion among the Spurs faithful and struggled to hold down a place in Andre Villas-Boas' side.
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The footballers who returned for a second spell at former clubs Kaka The Brazilian experienced one of the most drastic falls from grace during his time at Real Madrid and understandably decided to return to his beloved AC Milan last summer. In his first stint at Milan, he was recognised as the world's greatest player, scoring 70 goals in 193 appearances and solidifying his status by winning the 2007 Ballon d'Or. This prompted Real Madrid to splash £56m on the attacking-midfielder, as they attempted to build another 'Galacticos' side. Unfortunately Kaka got lost in the shuffle at the Bernabeu, finding himself behind Mesut Ozil in the pecking-order. His return to Milan on a free transfer has inspired performances of old, his best coming against Barcelona in this season's Champions League.
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The footballers who returned for a second spell at former clubs Robbie Keane It is easy to forget that Robbie Keane was once a Liverpool player. His move to and from the Merseyside club was nothing short of farcical. After an excellent 2007/08 season in tandem with Dimitar Berbatov at Tottenham, Keane joined Liverpool for £20m. After only six months at the club he re-joined Spurs in the following transfer window for £12m. Rafa Benitez essentially paid £8m for five goals.
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The footballers who returned for a second spell at former clubs Nemanja Matic Nemanja Matic returned to Chelsea in January 2014 for fee believed to be in the region of £21m. Having sold him for just £4m a couple of years ago, it represented quite a risk but, so far, he is paying the Blues back. In those intervening years, Matic excelled at Benfica, so much so Jose Mourinho believes the Blues made a mistake in letting him go as part of the deal to bring in David Luiz. During his first spell at the club, Matic made just three appearances.
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The footballers who returned for a second spell at former clubs Mark Hughes Despite being one of Manchester United's key players from 1980-86, Hughes was surprisingly sold for £2m to Terry Venables' Barcelona. Although he was loved at United, the lure of higher wages and the opportunity to play European football proved too tempting. At the time of course, English clubs were barred from European competitions due to the Heysel disaster in 1985. It was intended that he would form a prolific partnership with Gary Lineker but this did not materialise. After a successful loan spell at Bayern Munich, he returned to United in 1988, going on to make another 89 appearances for the club and scoring 37 goals.
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The footballers who returned for a second spell at former clubs Duncan Ferguson The striker enjoyed two successful spells at Everton, either side of a two year stint at Newcastle that he did not really want. A prolific 42 goals in 107 appearances for the Toffees prompted Newcastle to table a £7m bid for Ferguson which was controversially accepted by then chairman, Peter Johnson. The deal was done behind the back of the manager, Walter Smith, but Ferguson would return to play for another six years for Everton, before deciding to retire at the club.
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The footballers who returned for a second spell at former clubs Michael Ballack The German midfielder used Bayer Leverkusen as a platform to launch his career and as a club to wind down at. In his first spell at the club he put his name on the map, winning the German Footballer of the Year award as part of the Leverkusen side that reached the 2002 Champions League final. This led to a £10m move to Bayern Munich, before a free transfer to Chelsea in 2006. He made over 100 appearances for both clubs. After a return to Leverkusen, he would only make 35 appearances in two seasons filled with injuries, before deciding to retire in 2012.
The footballers who returned for a second spell at former clubs Ian Rush Like Mark Hughes's transfer to Barcelona, Ian Rush's move from Liverpool to Juventus in 1987 was mainly down to the player's desire to play in European competition. Some even saw this transfer as an attempt by the Merseyside club to apologise to Juventus following the Heysel disaster. Rush had a dismal time in Italy, prompting him to actually publish a diary highlighting his grievances. Having struggled against the more organised Italian defences, he returned to Liverpool after just 29 appearances for the Old Lady and would go on to score another 90 goals for the Reds in eight seasons.
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The footballers who returned for a second spell at former clubs Juninho The Brazilian returned to Middlesbrough not once but twice after leaving them in 1997 to join Atletic Madrid. After an influential two years at the Boro, he regrettably had to depart to the Spanish club to stand any chance of breaking into Brazil's 1998 World Cup squad. After an injury-stricken couple of seasons at Atletico, he joined Boro on a season long loan in 1999. He left Atletico twice more on-loan before deciding to join Middlesborough permanently in 2002. The attacking-midfielder lifted the League Cup with them in 2004, ranking this as being more important to him than Brazil's 2002 World Cup win.
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The footballers who returned for a second spell at former clubs Graeme Le Saux The left-back is most famous for his time at Chelsea but it does slip the mind that sandwiched in between his two spells at the London club were a very successful four years at Blackburn. Le Saux left Chelsea initially under controversial circumstances when he decided to throw his shirt at his manager, Ian Porterfield, due to being substituted. He was sold to Blackburn in 1993 for £750,000 and went on to lift the Premier League title with Rovers in 1995. He became an integral part of Chelsea when he returned in 1997, winning the Cup Winners' Cup, the FA Cup and the League Cup in his six year stint.
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