Marouane Fellaini, a polarizing figure to say the least, has reportedly agreed to personal terms to join Chinese club Shandong Luneng, according to the BBC. While the England transfer window ends on Thursday, the Chinese transfer window is open until February 28, so there is still plenty of time to get this deal ironed out.
While many outlets, especially this time of year, can lack trustworthiness, Simon Stone is among the best in the business, and the BBC is about as close as it gets to a report being deemed official. Stone’s report says that United have refused to comment on whether or not a transfer fee has been agreed upon however.
Fellaini was the first and only player signed by David Moyes in his lone summer transfer window of 2013. The Belgian moved for £27 million that deadline day, and he’s since had a very up and down stint during his five and a half years at United. The midfielder was a big time selection favorite of Jose Mourinho, but he doesn’t seem to be any part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s plans.
He just signed a two year extension with the club this past June, but despite the new deal being reached, his moving on is not all that surprising. And if you’ve ever paid attention to Man United fan Twitter accounts during a game, you know that this news won’t exactly be devastating in the eyes of much of the fanbase.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.