Marouane Fellaini: Can the Belgian resurrect his Old Trafford career?

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Ever since Marouane Fellaini’s high-profile £27.5 million transfer from Everton to Manchester United in the summer of 2013, the Belgium international has threatened but ultimately failed to live up to his hefty price tag at United.

Is there still time for Fellaini to resurrect his Red Devils career, or has the damage already been done?

At Everton, Fellaini was no doubt one of their star men. The Belgian took the Premier League by storm at Goodison Park, after arriving in English football from Standard Liege in 2008. However, Fellaini’s form and performance levels have dropped drastically at Man Utd.

When David Moyes first arrived at Old Trafford to take over as boss, he made it his No. 1 priority to bring the tall midfielder to Manchester with him. After a lot of negotiating, the Toffees and United agreed on a huge £27.5 million fee.

Although he arrived at the club with huge promise, not even the most ardent of Manchester United fans can say he’s been a success so far.

 

Ever-present

In a red shirt, Fellaini has already stacked up over 60 Premier League appearances, he’s also featured regularly in the FA Cup, Capital One Cup, Champions League and the Europa League. However, although he plies his trade mainly as a holding type midfielder, the 28-year-old has only managed a mere nine goals, and has struggled to stamp his authority in United’s first-team.

At present, due to numerous injuries and other players out of form, Fellaini has started the last few games in Louis van Gaal’s XI. The 6ft 4 powerhouse played in United’s 2-0 Europa League loss at Liverpool, the 1-1 FA Cup draw with West Ham United and the 1-1 reverse leg against the Reds in midweek.

Overall, due to his own injury problems, he’s only managed 15 Premier League appearances this term.

With reports getting stronger and stronger that there will be a new manager at the helm in the summer, are Marouane Fellaini’s days in a Manchester United shirt numbered? I think it’s safe to say that he hasn’t done enough to convince the supporters that he deserves a new contract when his current one expires in two years time, and many of the fans have already lost patience with the big man.

 

What has happened to the Everton Fellaini?

But where has the Fellaini gone that performed so well at Goodison Park? Firstly, no disrespect to Everton, but Manchester United are on a different scale in terms of popularity and success, of course. Signing for United was still a huge step for him to take, and he isn’t the first, nor will he be the last, to come a cropper at Old Trafford.

Besides, it’s not just the Belgium midfielder who has massively underachieved for United during Van Gaal’s reign. There’s been plenty of other players who have been well off par, and have nowhere near lived up to the high expectations they set elsewhere.

There’s still time for Fellaini to come good and show his worth, but the clock is undoubtedly ticking for the frizzy-haired Belgian in Manchester.

 

Written by Gareth Hinton

Follow Gareth on Twitter @Galccfc

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