Man Utd misfit can be major boon to Napoli’s title hopes

Marouane Fellaini’s torrid Man United career could finally be coming to a close as Napoli look likely to ignore the Belgian’s horror show at Old Trafford last season with a £15m bid for his services.

Having become the fourth-most expensive player in the club’s history when following former mentor David Moyes to the Red Devils from Everton, Fellaini failed to impress in his debut season in Manchester, often suffering derision from his own fans.

In just 16 appearances in the Premier League and just 21 overall, Fellaini was unable to recreate the physical dominance he often exerted in the blue shirt of the Toffees, but can perhaps blame a combination of injuries and misuse on his stuttering results.

With Louis van Gaal now in charge of the 5/1 Premier League title hopefuls, a man who has already spoken about the perceived imbalance of United’s squad, it seems the afro-sporting midfielder won’t get many opportunities beyond the club’s current US tour to impress.

Luckily for the sharp-elbowed Brussels native, Rafael Benitez believes Fellaini’s services can be of great use to Napoli.

Should he be used in the advanced midfield role that saw him score 12 times in 36 all-competition appearances for Everton in 2012/13, then the beanpole player can certainly aid the Italian side’s 5/1-rated Serie A title chances.

Whether Napoli, a club with known to be less financially flush than most, can afford to match the 26-year-old ‘s £100,000-per-week wages remains to be seen, and Benitez may even opt to try and arrange a loan move for Fellaini before taking the plunge on a permanent deal.

If Mr Benitez is still unsure about the move though, allow news.ladbrokes to play over-excited salesman for a moment, with the below highlight clip from his 2012/13 season. Not that we want to see him gone or anything:

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

Fancy a flutter? Sign up today to claim up to £100 in free bets.