What a way to dent the feel-good factor which has built up around Everton in recent weeks, since Fellaini himself helped the Toffees start their season with a scintillating victory over Manchester United. Most perplexing is why the 24-year-old decided to go public with his intentions now? The transfer window has just closed and for the best part of 16 weeks at least he will be an Everton player.
If he is set on engineering a move away from Goodison to a supposedly bigger club such things can be done discreetly, patiently, and not via the media when the ramifications can be damaging for morale. Evertonians are not stupid. They have watched the towering midfielder at his finest and realised it is likely he will leave eventually to play Champions League football if that goal cannot be achieved on Merseyside. His growing emergence as a main-stay for an impressive Belgian team, coupled with his knack for thriving in high-profile games (but not always in less demanding fixtures) has earned him a deservedly glowing reputation.
But this is a young man who only last November signed a five year contract to make him Everton’s highest-paid player on £75,000 per-week. That alone should prompt more respect to his current employers. Added to that of course is the prospect of genuine success for David Moyes’ side this season, when they arguably have their strongest team yet during his reign - with Fellaini a major part of it. Perhaps he will deny saying what Het Nieuwsblad have reported him as saying. Perhaps the well-worn ‘misquoted’ line will be proffered in mitigation. But either way the timing of this seemingly candid admission is almost inexplicable.
And David Moyes - who showed with Mikel Arteta last summer that he is not in the business of preventing restless players from chasing their dreams elsewhere - may have two messages for his £15m signing at Finch Farm later this week. Firstly, perhaps to stick with him and see what can be achieved this term before making his mind-up. And secondly to keep his mouth shut in future. Related stories From around the web Related Tags
Source: liverpool_echo
