After being linked with two other, possibly greater clubs, it seems that all of a sudden Arsenal become the favorites to land Marouane Fellaini, not likely to stay another season with Everton.
After being linked to Chelsea for about an entire year and more recently with Manchester United thanks to the move of David Moyes from Goodison Park to Old Trafford, The Times are suggesting that Arsenal, willing to spend more this season than ever before, are in the best position to sign the Belgian midfielder.
With Jose Mourinho now in complete control at Chelsea, which includes the transfer policy, it looks like other, more defensive minded players are crossing his mind as potential new arrivals, steering the club away from the Fellaini direction. At Manchester United, Moyes doesn’t have the kind of power Alex Ferguson had, and might not be able to force his will on the spending and on who it will go on.
Fellaini, 25, has been at Everton since 2008, signed from Standard Liege for £15 million, which was a record for a Belgian player at the time, and still the club record for Everton. According to the Toffees chairman, they know there’s not a lot of chance of keeping Fellaini with the team, and its likely that Arsenal will trigger the £22 million release clause very soon.
Arsenal, according to their chiefs, are in a better financial position than they’ve been in for quite some time, meaning they’re willing to spend a lot of money on players from the Premier League, unlike other years in which they tried finding cheaper alternatives to what their top 4 rivals were bringing in, not to mention losing their own stars.
Fellaini scored 12 goals in all competition for Everton last season, enjoying his best season for the club. In five seasons with the team, playing a more attacking role in 2012-2013 compared to the other four, he has played 173 matches for the club, scoring 32 goals.