Man Utd land £27m Marouane Fellaini, miss Herrera

Manchester United have completed the signing of Marouane Fellaini from Everton, paying £27.5 million to secure the services of the highly-rated Belgium international.
Marouane Fellaini. Picture: GettyMarouane Fellaini. Picture: Getty
Marouane Fellaini. Picture: Getty

The deal was pushed through in the final minutes of the transfer window and reunites United manager David Moyes with a player he knows well from his time at Goodison Park.

Fellaini – who is in the Belgium squad to face Scotland in a World Cup qualifier this week – has become the fourth highest transfer in United’s history, ahead of Wayne Rooney and behind only Dimitar Berbatov, Rio Ferdinand and Juan Sebastian Veron.

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His 12 goals for Everton last term underline the goal threat he can provide given, other than Shinji Kagawa, who scored six times, no midfielder managed more than two strikes for United last term.

It was a day of mixed for tunes for Moyes, though, after their attempt to sign Athletic Bilbao midfielder Ander Herrera collapsed in farcical circumstances.

Moyes identified Herrera as a potential target and it was believed United were willing to pay Athletic’s e36m asking price.

It then appeared three United officials had arrived at La Liga headquarters in Madrid to complete the formalities that would allow Herrera to finalise a move to Old Trafford. However, late last night it emerged the trio were imposters and had nothing to do with United at all.

Subsequently, United withdrew from the transfer, even though it was established they had an additional hour to conclude the deal providing a Deal Sheet with the signature of both clubs and the player was submitted to the Premier League.