Bharath Rammr
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has branded Manchester United’s Marouane Fellaini as a liability largely because of his clumsiness. The Belgian international conceded a penalty against Everton with just one minute of normal time remaining. Everton grasped the opportunity with both hands after equalising the game 1-1. As expected, José Mourinho faced a barrage of questions about Fellaini after the match. The midfielder was only brought on as a substitute hoping to help the club at the other end of the pitch.
No less than a week after the incident, several transfer rumours have started linking Fellaini with a swift exit even as early as in January. As quoted by the Peoples Person, Carragher said:
“He sees the danger, but doesn’t stop himself, and runs into him [Idrissa Gueye].
“Fellani is a clumsy player, he is, we see that with his elbows, knees, he’s that type of player you come up against in training.
“He can’t but help hurt you. He just runs into people, and when you put him in that position, in front of the back four, he is liable to do these things.”
West Ham are reportedly preparing an offer for the player, whose contract runs out in the summer of 2018. Given that he has fallen out of favour at Manchester United over the last couple of weeks, the possibility of a new contract arriving on the table of the Belgian seems highly unlikely. West Ham are ready to pay around £15 million for the player who is 29 and will not have much resale value after the summer.
Fellaini has always been seen as a player who commits a lot of fouls. In his last campaign with Everton, Fellaini picked up nine yellow cards throughout the campaign and came close to receiving a two match automatic suspension. His disciplinary record has certainly improved since joining United, but it has gone down the drain this season. Fellaini has already collected six yellow cards despite playing only 11 games. He has already been suspended for one match and if this current trend continues, he may very well be on the verge of another suspension.
Even when he had just joined from Everton in a £27 million deal, Manchester United fans have been sceptical about Fellaini. He has always seen as a player who did not fit into the club, which has prided itself on playing attractive football for much of its history.
Jose Mourinho defended his decision to bring on Fellaini with five minutes of normal time remaining against Everton, as he felt that the Belgian’s height would give United an advantage in the hopes of preventing the opposition from gaining an equaliser. Admittedly, Fellaini’s defensive record has improved substantially with 2.4 tackles and 1.8 interceptions per game in the league this season. However, he has also committed almost two fouls per game making him a big liability in the final moments when most of the action would be in the box.
In hindsight, it proved to be the wrong decision as Fellaini conceded the penalty that led to the equaliser.
