According to reports, Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini has attracted interest from AC Milan with the Serie A club’s sporting director Massimiliano Mirabelli citing the Belgian as “an important player”.
Fellaini’s current £80,000-a-week contract at Old Trafford is due to expire this summer, although Jose Mourinho earlier claimed that an agreement is “in place” to extend the midfielder’s spell at the club.
The big Belgian joined United from Everton in 2013 and has gone on to have a mixed spell so far at Old Trafford. No player divides opinion quite like Fellaini does at United. He was brought to the club by David Moyes as the former manager looked to his Everton connections to bolster his squad.
Moyes was sacked in eight months and Fellaini became the target of frustration from the supporters. After Louis van Gaal replaced Moyes, Fellaini became an important player at United, with the Dutchman showing plenty of support to the Belgian. Van Gaal left after two dull years at United and was replaced by Jose Mourinho.
Under Mourinho, amidst all the criticism from the fans and pundits, Fellaini has fought back hard to carve out a good career at the club and earn respect on and off the field.
Mourinho sees the Big Belgian as an effective player in his plan B. Fellaini’s winner against Arsenal at the death last month is a testament to the player’s effectiveness and why Mourinho adores the 30-year-old.
At United, Fellaini has won the EFL Cup, the FA Cup and the Europa League. He has truly made a valuable contribution to United but the player simply doesn’t fit the club’s tradition of attacking and expansive football. Mourinho may be a fan of Fellaini but it is high time the United manager finds another way to unlock opposition defences.
However, does that mean Fellaini isn’t a good player? Of course, not. The Belgian simply isn’t a United material but for the all the hard work and dedication he has shown to improve as a player, Fellaini certainly deserves respect.
He has often changed the course of the game whenever United have banked upon him but his mistakes from the past seem to be in the minds of the fans.
For the player that he is, Fellaini doesn’t deserve so much criticism and must leave United in the summer and join AC Milan. One of the European forces, Milan have failed to make the right noise in the last few years but are back in Europe after a crushing victory over Fiorentina.
Of course, it isn’t the Champions League like everyone dreamt of after the arrival of a lot of fresh faces but Gennaro Gattuso steadied the ship after replacing Vincenzo Montella and has guided them to 6th place.
The club is right on the edge of getting back to where they belong and Fellaini could be an important player for them next season.
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