Manchester United interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is reportedly ready to let Marouane Fellaini leave this January – even though he signed a new contract last summer.
The Belgian international has barely figured since Jose Mourinho was sacked in December and several teams are looking at the 31-year-old including Porto, AC Milan and Guangzhou Evergrande says The Mirror.
Solskjaer will allow the player – who has made just two appearances in six games amounting to only 31 minutes since Mourinho left – to leave for £15million.
Speculation about his future was not helped by the fact that he wasn’t included in the United squad which beat Spurs 1-0 at Wembley on Sunday.
Fellaini has 18 months to run on his contract but United are looking to find funds as they target new recruits this month. He cost United £27million from Everton in 2013 and was regularly used as a substitute by Mourinho. With an uncanny knack of coming up with late goals – especially from set-pieces – Fellaini endeared himself to the United fans.
It’s that kind of unpredictability which could persuade Solskjaer to keep the player – especially with the next stage of the Champions League around the corner and a renewed push for a top-four place with both Spurs and Arsenal looking vulnerable in recent weeks.
Kalidou Koulibaly of Napoli has been mentioned repeatedly as United’s top January target and he remains a potential target. But he is likely to cost more than £80million so any revenue raised from the sale of Fellaini would come in handy.