Man United Transfers: 7 Players Mourinho Still Needs To Get Rid Of

Time is surely up for Marouane Fellaini. There must have been a time somewhere, in the deep recesses of David Moyes’ brain, where the signing of the afro-haired Belgian made sense. But times have changed, as demonstrated by the former Everton boss taking up the post at Sunderland while Man United still struggle to clean up his mess two years later.

Let’s give credit to Fellaini where it’s due - he is not the lumbering oaf that he has been made out to be in some quarters by United fans over the last three years. But in the same measure, he is not the ball-playing midfielder that fans have been dreaming of since Scholes hung up his boots (again).

At Everton, he was effective in the number ten, not as a trequartista but more as a ‘Kevin Nolan’ type - with sharper elbows. Under Mourinho, it’s hard to see where Fellaini will be utilised. The Portuguese tactician is known to like a Plan B, and even a Plan C - his last throw of the dice in his first Chelsea spell was often to throw a young Robert Huth up front.

Selling the much-maligned Belgian however, would fetch a substantial fee, one would imagine. They won’t recoup the £27.5 million they splurged on him in 2013, but with Fellaini turning 30 the season after next, if they are to make a significant buck on him, January is the time to cash in.