Arsenal are reportedly mulling over making a shock approach to sign Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini when his contract runs out.
Arsenal are weighing up a shock swoop for Belgian international Marouane Fellaini, who will be out of contract with current club Manchester United at the end of this month, as per reports from the Mirror.
The 30-year-old midfielder joined Manchester United from Everton in 2013 in a £27 million deal when David Moyes took charge of the club following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. Since moving to the Old Trafford, Fellaini has gone on to amass 156 appearances, scoring 20 goals and registering 10 assists.
Fellaini had an indifferent 2017/18 campaign blighted by injuries and as a result, featured only 23 times for the Mancunians across all competitions, finding the back of the net on five occasions and setting up one more.
Current Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho sees Fellaini as a handy squad player and is understood to be keen on holding onto the midfielder for the next season. In fact, not very long ago, the Portuguese seemed quite confident that the Belgian international would sign a new contract with the club and stay put at the Old Trafford.
However, the former Everton man has rejected multiple new offers from the Red Devils in the recent past, reportedly due to the club not meeting his wage demands. Most recently, the club had put forth a one-year deal worth £80,000-per-week for the 30-year old, which he refused to sign.
And Arsenal are set to pounce on the opportunity to sign Fellaini on a free before the next season kicks off. New manager Unai Emery is understood to be very much interested in landing the midfielder, having eyed him as a transfer target back when he was in-charge of Paris Saint-Germain as well.
The Gunners are keen on adding experienced players to their squad ahead of Emery’s debut campaign and have also been linked with Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos, having already signed seasoned pro Stephan Lichtsteiner on a free transfer, following the expiry of his contract with Serie A champions Juventus.
Fellaini is wanted by Italian giants AC Milan as well, but Arsenal seem to have the edge over the Serie A outfit, having already established contact with his camp, with more negotiations expected to be held between the two parties in the coming days. Currently away on international duty, Fellaini will be hoping that his future is sorted out before the 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off in Russia in just over a week’s time.
