Turkey’s capital club Galatasaray are keen to take advantage of Manchester United’s crowded midfield this summer as they prepare to launch a bid for Red Devils anchorman and Belgian international Marouane Fellaini.
United gaffer Jose Mourinho has every intent to revolutionise his squad this summer with every resource geared towards building a team capable of winning the English league crown. After the arrivals of Benfica’s Victor Lindelof and Everton’s Romelu Lukaku, it is understood United have already closed the deal for Chelsea’s midfield strongman Nemanja Matic, According to the Daily Express, with the Serbian international set to arrive at Old Trafford within the next few days.
This means United now have an abundance of players available in midfield. Aside from the near-certain starters like Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera, United also have in their roster Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Juan Mata, and captain Michael Carrick – which leaves just one man who is deemed surplus to requirements: Marouane Fellaini.
The 29-year-old Fellaini has been a polarizing figure amongst the Old Trafford faithful since his eyebrow-raising arrival in 2013 under the then-manager David Moyes. Since then, Fellaini had done little to bridge the divide amongst supporters who love him and those who don’t.
The former Everton man’s performances last season certainly hasn’t done him any favours. In his 28 appearances in the Premier League last season, he has managed to score only one goal. In fact, honing in on the numbers, one will see that Fellaini has only managed to hit 11 headers total in all his league games last season, despite his supposed aerial threat.
In midfield, Fellaini only serves as a liability, as he has gathered 9 yellow cards and one red.
Those are enough reasons for Mourinho to sanction Fellaini’s departure, given the right offer – to which Galatasaray appear happy to oblige.
“Fellaini will leave Manchester United and he is now in our radar,” Galatasaray sporting director Cenk Ergun told Turkish sports portal Ajansspor.
“We have made an approach for the player, and I feel we are close to signing him. We need a player like Fellaini who can move around in midfield,” the club official further added.
With Fellaini’s contract set to expire at the end of the upcoming 2017-18 season, it seems plausible that United will be prepared to cash in on the former Standard Liege star. Whether such a deal will indeed happen, however, is still uncertain.