One of the most startling revelations to surface this week is the fact that Marouane Fellaini, one of the Premier League’s hottest prospects, has a release clause written into his Everton contract.
A variety of sources, including The Mirror, claim that the five year deal the big Belgium signed with the Merseyside club back in 2011, contained a £22m release-clause that can be triggered by any club playing Champions League football.
The fact that this is public knowledge must be a source of great disappointment for Everton and David Moyes, who would surely have liked to keep hold of the talented midfielder and part time striker for another couple of seasons.
Alas, the news has reached the Press and now just about everybody knows about it. Who knows who’s to blame (agents, somebody in the media) the fact is, this information is likely to spark a new bout of enquiries into the 25-year-old.
According to The Mirror, Chelsea are leading the chase for Fellaini, but if the release clause can only be triggered by a Champions League club, the Blues may be unable to seal the deal. If Rafa Benitez did come knocking, I’m sure Everton would fight tough and nail to stop any deal from being secured.
Then there’s Manchester United, who have also been strongly linked to Fellaini. He’s also the club who would seem to be the best fit for the midfield maestro.
After all, all we’ve heard from pundits regarding United for the last couple of seasons, is that Sir Alex Ferguson needs to seek out a replacement for the aging Paul Scholes. Wouldn’t Fellaini be a great heir to the Ginger prince?
At 25-years-old, he’s playing the best football of his career. Yes, he’s tall and his ‘fro adds another six or so inches to his stature, but there’s so much more to his game than his much lauded physical ability. Yes, he can pluck the ball out of the air with consummate ease, but he’s also a gifted technical player. He has tricky feet, quick wit and genuine footballing nous. He’s able to control the ball in an instant and quickly switch play to find a team-mate.
Like Paul Scholes, he’s good at both the competitive, physical side of the game, and the playmaking, ‘pick out a killer pass’ part.
Indeed, at £22m, he may well be something of a bargain for Sir Alex. Let’s hope he’s been reading the papers this last week and is plotting a move as we speak.
What’s your take? Is Marouane Fellaini a bargain at £22m?
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simply too much, I mean… what is going on in England? Players seem to worth double of what they actually deserve. He is a really good player and i give it to him on that. But that doesn’t make him 22 million worth.