Nemanja Matic: The three Chelsea midfield legends who made me a star

The Serbia international first joined the Blues in 2009 from MFK Kosice for £1.5million, but a long-term injury restricted him to just two Premier League appearances.

Matic then spent a season on loan at Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem before joining Benfica as part of the deal which took David Luiz to Stamford Bridge.

However, Jose Mourinho decided to bring Matic back to Chelsea for £21m in January 2014, and has quickly established himself as a key first-team player.

Speaking to the club's official website, the 26-year-old explained that training with Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Michael Ballack during his early days in London hugely influenced his career, putting him on the road to becoming a world-class midfielder.

He said: "When you come to Chelsea, you are at the top level and, if you are playing here, you know the best players in the world are with you.

"I learned a lot in my first time here – just to train with midfielders like Lampard, Essien and Ballack, you learn a lot. I was very young when I first came here and I was injured for five months as well, so I think the players here helped me a lot at that time."