The former £40m Man Utd renegade who could be Fulham's perfect January bargain

It's all kicking off in Rennes! Well, kind of. The unfurling debacle is centred around former Chelsea and Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic, who rocked up in Brittany over the summer, and has seemingly spent the entirety of his time since trying to engineer a swift departure.

As recently as mid-August, the Serbian was on the books at AS Roma, but left the Italian capital to pen a two-year contract with Ligue 1 outfit Stade Rennais in the dying embers of the summer transfer window. So far, so 'discoverable on a Wikipedia deep dive approximately one whole decade from now'. Complications arose, however, when Matic suddenly and unexpectedly went AWOL. Then again, if it had been expected, he wouldn't be absent without leave, would he?

Anyways, in response to Matic's apparent desertion, Stade Rennais put out a statement branding his behaviour as 'wholly incomprehensible' and claiming that 'every aspect necessary to the full integration of Nemanja Matic and his entourage has been carried out with the utmost transparency'. Big words.

For his part, the 35-year-old retorted with a statement of his own, explaining: 'Unfortunately, due to an error on my part, I was unable to adapt my private affairs to my professional ones. I was unable to enrol the children who had attended, since the beginning of their school career, an international school. For this reason, I was away for the last three days to try to resolve this big problem for me and my family and tomorrow I will return to Rennes where I will decide the next steps together with the club'.

There have since been suggestions that Matic spent his absent period in London, and that he was misled over the ease with which he would be able to find appropriate schooling for his kids upon joining the club, although everything remains somewhat hazy and unsubstantiated. Regardless, it would appear that the damage may already have been done. Further reports claim that the midfielder has emptied his training ground locker, has removed himself from Stade Rennais' first team squad group chat, and that a January exit could be on the cards. Again, how much of this is just hysterical speculation remains to be seen.

If Matic is to leave, however, there is the very real prospect that he could return to the Premier League. According to respected journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, Fulham 'want' to sign him this month, and could look to make their move if and when a transfer is sanctioned.

Competition will be fierce, though. Reports in France suggest that Lyon are also in the running for the veteran star, and that they have already reached an agreement over personal terms. Nothing is concrete, however, and if the past few weeks has taught us anything, it's that Matic is no stranger to sudden changes of heart. And that he really likes London. Apparently.

Either way, Fulham could do an awful lot worse than swooping for the three-time Premier League title winner in the coming days, provided he becomes available. Matic knows the English top flight inside out, evidently still has a lot to offer, even if it is in a slightly reduced capacity, and would presumably be allowed to leave France for a bargain fee. The midfielder only cost Stade Rennais £2.6 million a few months ago, and his current employers are hardly in a strong position to negotiate a lofty price tag.

In fact, in many respects, any potential transfer would bring to mind the deal that brought Willian to Craven Cottage a little while ago. All the ingredients are there: the ageing professional seemingly past his prime, the apparent desire to prioritise playing football and a harmonious personal life over the pursuit of silverware, the obvious spot waiting in a squad that, while by no means weak, could always do with a little added quality and experience here and there.

At this stage, there are still countless moving parts to consider in this bizarre French saga, but if everything falls into place, and if Matic does find himself looking for a new club between now and the end of the month, Fulham could be major beneficiaries.