Exclusive: French football expert on why new Lyon signing made surprise transfer

French football expert Jonathan Johnson has explained what went on with Nemanja Matic as he surprisingly swapped Rennes for Lyon after just a few months.

The veteran Serbian midfielder, formerly of Chelsea and Manchester United, left Roma for Rennes in the summer, but quickly left for Lyon in a somewhat surprising move in this January’s transfer window.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest column in the Daily Briefing, Johnson explained that Matic took this decision after feeling let down by Rennes, where it seems some promises were made to him which were not kept.

Johnson says Matic had been sold a vision by the club during the summer, but it’s fair to say it didn’t work out that way, while a change in manager might also have had some impact on the 35-year-old.

This looks a good signing for Lyon, though, who will be pleased to have taken advantage of the situation, with Johnson stating that he looks ideal to come in and play a key role to help the club away from the relegation zone.

“Nemanja Matic looks like an interesting signing from Rennes, and the team should benefit from his experience. It bolsters their options in that position but also gives them perhaps a better mix of characters to help them climb up the Ligue 1 table,” Johnson said.

“Things went sour surprisingly quickly for Matic at Rennes – he was sold a vision of how things were going to go for the club that didn’t turn into reality. There was also a change of manager, and things haven’t really worked out on the pitch, so he decided to move on and Lyon saw that opportunity to get them the kind of character who could be key for them.

“It’s been disappointing for all parties involved that the Rennes move didn’t work out as expected, but it looks a good get for Lyon and I think it’ll help this squad that has been in need of leadership figures.”