10 Premier League Flops Who Could Become World Cup 2014 Stars

7. Marouane Fellaini - Belgium

For much of his Premier League career Marouane Fellaini was anything but a Premier League flop, but this season he has transformed into a shadow of the player he was last year. David Moyes splashed out a club record £15 million to bring the bustling Belgian box to box midfield prodigy to Everton in 2008 and, despite the hefty expectations such a transfer fee might command, it proved to be a shrewd move with Fellaini developing to become the heart of almost all of Everton's play. It is understandable, then, that Moyes should want to bring his Everton star along with him to Manchester United, but everything about Fellaini's move to Old Trafford smacked of desperation. From his hugely inflated £27.5 million fee, to the late rush to push the deal through after attempts to acquire more obvious targets like Cesc Fabregas had failed, Fellaini was bought out of a need to buy someone, anyone, not out of consideration of how he would fit in the team. After just 12 Premier League starts in a series of lacklustre performances in which Fellaini appeared to have no concept of his role in the team, Moyes was fired. The failure of Fellaini in particular probably did much to speed up that decision and now the Belgian is rumoured to be available for half what United paid for him just one year ago. Belgium remain many people's outside tip for World Cup glory with a young, keen and talented side qualifying for the first time since 2002. Even while he has struggled at United, Fellaini has made himself more and more of a part of the Belgian set up. Even having to fight for a place with Spurs' Moussa Dembele, Fellaini has played a key role as Belgium's playmaker in recent friendly wins against Tunisia and Luxembourg and came off the bench in a strong win over Sweden. He even scored earlier in the year against Cote d'Ivoire, something he managed 11 times for Everton last year, but not at all for United.