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United to offload midfield flop?

Brazil Soccer WCup Belgium AlgeriaIn news that will surprise absolutely no one, Marouane Fellaini might have to find himself another club before next season, given Louis Van Gaal is seemingly intent to offload the Belgian international, with reports claiming the Dutchman has gone as far as making obvious that Fellaini “isn’t a Manchester United player.”

After arriving to Old Trafford on deadline day last season for a staggering £27m, Fellaini became the embodiment of David Moyes’ disastrous season as, much like his manager, the Belgian looked totally out of his depth, clueless at the best of time and an extremely poor deal from a financial point of view.

Ruthlessly exposed when deployed in front of the back four – a situation which was, admittedly, made worse by Moyes’ decision to play the Belgian in a role he wasn’t suited to – bereft of ideas when deployed further forward and surprisingly injury prone, Fellaini was a shadow of the player that had constantly bullied United during his Everton days and quickly became last season’s pantomime villain.

Fellaini’s World Cup campaign has gone much better, with the former Everton man netting against Algeria in Belgium’s opening game before playing 90 minutes in Belgium’s next three games and looking more at ease than he’d done at any stage last season which, according to the Daily Mail, bodes well for United’s hopes of getting rid of him this summer.

According to the Mail, Van Gaal has made clear to Ed Woodward that there are a host of players whose days at the club are numbered and while Fellaini might fall in the category – hopefully along the likes of Tom Cleverley, Ashley Young and Nani – finding a club willing to take the Belgian on board is not going to be an easy task.

United are resigned to pay the consequences of Moyes’ disastrous decision to fork out £27m for the Belgian last year and they’ll be lucky to recoup a fraction of the fee, but getting rid of some dead wood and starting the season with a leaner and more streamlined squad is definitely worth losing out on a few millions.

However, with Belgium in the quarter-finals – and the tantalising prospect of Fellaini taking on Lionel Messi – United might be short of time to find a club willing to invest on the midfielder.

Dan