Just when Marouane Fellaini thought the World Cup had provided him some respite after a horrific debut season at Manchester United comes the news Louis van Gaal doesn't want him at the club.
According to the Mail, Fellaini is "not a United type of player" according to incoming United coach Van Gaal, who has wasted little time in signalling the 26-year-old's Old Trafford death knell.
Although the arrival of midfielder Ander Herrera is merely the start of Van Gaal's United midfield repair work, Fellaini could be culled 10 months after he joined the club for £27.5 million, becoming United's fourth record signing at the time.
Fellaini is set to leave United 10 months after signing for the club
Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Darren Fletcher and Anderson all performed worse than Fellaini, arguably, last season however he emerged as an easy scapegoat the moment he became David Moyes' first signing. Brought to Everton by Moyes for £15m in 2008, inexplicably, the Scot - and United - allowed Fellaini's buy-out clause at Everton to swell by an additional £4.5m last summer and only bought him on transfer deadline day. The Belgian offered countless abject displays, one red card and no goals at United.
Unfortunately for Fellaini, his immobility counts against him with Van Gaal, who prefers a 4-3-3 formation despite the counter-attacking 5-3-2 system he has chosen for the Netherlands at this World Cup. United want Arturo Vidal and could be tempted into signing a third central midfielder due to the lingering dead wood.
Fellaini started Belgium's World Cup campaign as a substitute but came on to score in the opener against Algeria and has started every game since. Les Diables Rouges face Argentina in Saturday's quarter-final.