Former Chelsea youngster Jordan Houghton has revealed that former Blues boss Jose Mourinho threatened to sell Nemanja Matic at half time during a pre-season friendly - just six months after the club signed the Serbian.
In a bid to bolster his midfield in the January transfer window of 2014, Mourinho splashed out over £20million on re-signing the Serbian international, just three years after he left the West London club to join Portuguese outfit Benfica.
Despite having made 17 Premier League appearances by the end of the 2013/14 season, Matic's Chelsea future was thrown into jeopardy ahead of the start of the 2014/15 campaign.
In a bid to raise fitness levels and match sharpness, Chelsea faced AFC Wimbledon in a pre-season friendly ahead of the new Premier League season, with Matic, who is being linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur ahead of the next transfer window, being on the receiving end of a classic Mourinho rant, according to ex-academy star Houghton.
The Blues were 2-0 down at half-time at Kingsmeadow and Mourinho was furious with what he had seen, especially from Matic, as he threatened to sell him because of his performance in the first 45 minutes before substituting him.
Now, Houghton, who played the final 21 minutes of that pre-season friendly encounter, has recalled that dressing room rant of Mourinho's and the beginning of his Blues career.
"I got [John] Terry's signed shirt in the under-9s as he was my idol at the time but I was nervous because I thought I wasn't supposed to do it," Houghton told Goal.
"It was surreal that I trained and played with him. I see him as a friend now which is more surreal.
"We played together against Wycombe and AFC Wimbledon and it was under Mourinho.
"Against Wimbledon, I remember Mourinho absolutely hammering Matic and threatening to get rid of him, so that was an eye-opener. I then went on tour with the first team."
Mourinho, of course, did not follow through with his threat to Matic and he remained at Chelsea until July 2017 before sealing a move to Manchester United and, of course, linking up with Mourinho once again.
