Manchester United’s head coach, Jose Mourinho would like Marouane Fellaini to stay with the Red Devils beyond the summer of 2018. The Belgian’s contract is winding down to an end after this season and an extension is yet to be signed.
Interests have emerged from Serie A side, AS Roma who are looking for Kevin Strootman’s replacement but Mourinho is ready to battle it out for the defensive midfielder in the short time he has before summer arrives.
The Portuguese tactician was quoted, “Is he going to stay or leave? I don’t know. I don’t know.I want him to stay, the club wants him to stay. The process, the negotiations, the numbers, the distances between the offer and what he wants – I really don’t know how things are going.”
Fellaini has been a high-value cog in the United system, not as a regular starter but more as a utility player. The former Everton man’s talents are quite unique which largely originates from his massive 6 feet 4 inches build. His physical and aerial attributes is a force to be reckoned with along with his intelligence to read the game on the defensive end.
Fellaini is not some maestro who will formulate a team’s attacks all by his lonesome but he will provide an offensive threat whenever required. His services have been called upon in the dying minutes of a close game and many a time, the 30-year-old has turned out to be the difference maker for United.
The current season has been a challenging period for Fellaini due to recurring injuries in his knee. He last played in January and Mourinho expects to have him back over the next few weeks.
Manchester United’s campaign is still very much alive in the European stage and in the FA Cup. Their title challenge might be a lost cause with their bitter rivals, Manchester City extending their lead at the top of the Premier League table to 16 points.
On Fellaini’s absence, Herrera was expected to fill out the void with Michael Carrick as the backup option but to everyone’s surprise, Scott McTominay has turned out to be the regular starter.
Mourinho gave the 21-year-old an opportunity to prove himself and McTominay met the standards of the task with flying colours. He has been solid in the midfield and has fit in nicely along with Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba.
While the youngster is expected to have an illustrious future in a United shirt, Fellaini’s services cannot be dealt away with so easily. It would be in Mourinho’s best interest to further convince the Belgian international to stay by giving him a more important role for the remainder of the season.
