Confused? I use the allegory of mutual funds to refer to Marouane Fellaini here.  Mutual Funds come with the rider of `subject to market risks`; Please read the offer document carefully before investing’.

The best part about this midfielder is that he makes the market quake in its large boots! He is what Manchester United need desperately.

United lack a leader in the middle of the park. This has been the case ever since Roy Keane departed in November 2005. Michael Carrick was bought and he has been a shrewd buy at £18.6m. Six years have passed and he remains integral to Sir Alex Ferguson’s plans. Why then am I (and I suspect a lot of other fans) clamoring for some `steel` in the middle of the park?? The answer was there for all to see during yesterday’s loss to Everton.

We missed a leader who could take the bull by the horns i.e. influence the on goings emphatically. We never had that. Thanks to injuries to our defenders, Carrick had to play at Centre-back. He was good, no doubt. Yet SAF didn’t pay Spurs £18.6m to play Carrick as a CB. Centre-midfield is his natural spot and that is where his calming influence was sorely missed. Yet, there have been ample instances where our midfield has been Overrun. Who can put a stop to all this? A bulldog, someone like a Yaya Toure or Fellaini.

These people are giants in the middle of the field. Their huge frames, athletic bodies and tough mentality makes them nightmares to play against. Keane and Genaro Gattuso weren’t the biggest but there tenacity and ferocity made them feared opponents for anyone. At United, there is NO ONE who can perform this role, leave alone the aplomb part! What these guys do is prevent the midfield from being overrun. They break up opposition attacks frequently and thereby buy time for their own people to get back into the requisite shape.

Also, as Yaya has amply demonstrated, these guys can drive the team forward in search of goals. Fellaini (who I am sorry to not have given enough coverage up till now) is someone who is, in ESPN’s Leander Schearlaeckens words a part target man, part ball winner, part attacking midfielder and part wig model. It’s that mound of hair that makes him distinctive, forming a giant afro, which bobs along as he rushes from challenge to challenge or collapses temporarily when he heads the ball. Yet for ‘The Perminator’, it’s his combination of skill, length and strength that makes him remarkable.

These are the qualities of Fellaini which will make him indispensable to whichever team he plays for. It is clear he won’t be at Everton for long. They stand to gain a lot when they sell him. In my humble opinion, a bid of about £23m should be enough to snare him and fill our long standing `hole` in the middle.

The Belgian would fit in well and will give us much better protection thereby leading to lesser goals being conceded. He would pair up well alongside Carrick or Tom Cleverley and be a great pairing in the middle of the park for United. He can sit back and provide cover for the defense and say if Cleverley gets subbed for Carrick, Fellaini can join in the attack as well.

He is 24. He has played for 5 years at Everton. This season, in all honesty, should be his last at Goodison Park. He deserves a star club to match his star credentials. I can only hope that that club turns out to be Manchester United.

By Yashasvee Prasad