Fellaini will prove his worth, assures Moyes
Chaotic and, at times, shambolic deadline-day dealing ended with Fellaini being United’s only significant acquisition.
And at £27.5 million, the 25-year-old has not come cheaply.
Indeed, Moyes’ decision to let a clause in Fellaini’s contract expire at the end of July backfired as it ended up costing United an additional £4m, turning the Belgium international into the fourth most expensive purchase in the Red Devils’ history.
However, having worked with Fellaini for five years at Goodison Park, Moyes is acutely aware of the former Standard Liege man’s qualities.
And he has no doubt Fellaini will thrive in his new environment.
“Marouane is not someone you want to be playing against,” Moyes said.
“He has attributes other people don’t have. And with those qualities he has, I am sure he will be a big player for Manchester United.”
Moyes will be relieved to bolster his midfield options. The Scot identified it as a problem area as soon as he took over from Alex Ferguson in July.
With Paul Scholes retired and Darren Fletcher no nearer making a comeback from the chronic bowel condition that has raised many questions about the Scot’s career, United desperately needed reinforcements.
And, as Moyes pointed out, Fellaini provides a variety of options.
“He can play higher up the field if we need him to, just behind a main striker,” said Moyes.
“He can play as a defensive or holding midfield player. In fact he is comfortable in any position in the middle of the field.
“It was definitely a position where people would say we were short, not just of numbers, with the likes of Paul Scholes retiring and Darren Fletcher not being ready to come back just now. I am glad we have got him.”
Yet it is a transfer window that will go down in the annals of United history for all the wrong reasons.
Although Ferguson was not afraid of doing business in the last dregs of deadline day, breaking United’s transfer record to snap up Dimitar Berbatov at a similarly late stage of the 2008 window, the Scot felt it was a notoriously difficult time to do business and tended to avoid it if possible.
Given Moyes only got his feet under the table on July 1 and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward was also new in his role, it was no surprise that United took some time to get themselves organised.
What came as a shock was the vigour and openness with which they pursued Cesc Fabregas, a saga that ran on far too long once it became evident the former Arsenal skipper had no intention of leaving Barcelona.
Mooted signings of Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo might have been attractive in theory but in reality were virtually impossible to pull off.
Hesitation over the Fabregas deal also meant United missed out on Thiago Alcantara, who opted to join Bayern Munich instead, whilst a variety of names, including Mesut Ozil, were thought about but discarded before deadline day dawned.
It meant Moyes and Woodward were in a position of weakness, which Everton chairman Bill Kenwright exploited to the full, having been left furious at the “derisory” £28m joint bid for Fellaini and Leighton Baines.
What subsequently happened on Monday just fuels the notion of a rudderless ship. In leaving it so late to identify Real Madrid’s Fabio Coentrao as a suitable alternative to Baines, whom Moyes failed to prize away from Kenwright, United ensured there was not enough time to complete the chain that would have seen the Portugal defender begin a season-long loan at Old Trafford.
To add to United’s woes Coentrao’s Real team-mate Sami Khedira claimed the Spanish club turned down an offer for him just before the closure of the window.
“The club turned down the offer and it was done very quickly,” he said.
“It was not even an offer to talk about.”
United did however reveal last night that they had made in fact made another signing before the deadline passed in teenager Saidy Janko, who has joined from FC Zurich for an undisclosed fee.
A versatile right-sided player, the 17-year-old was born in Switzerland and has a Gambian father and a Swiss/Italian mother.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
