Manchester United rule out January sale of important midfielder

Manchester United run the risk of losing Marouane Fellaini for nothing at the end of the season after ruling out his departure in January, reports ESPN.

Fellaini’s current deal is due to expire in the summer and the Belgium international is on course to leave United after rejecting their offer of a new contract back in September.

Reports emerged earlier this month suggesting United had agreed an £8m deal with Besiktas for Fellaini to join the Turkish giants in January, but that is not the case.

United have ruled out Fellaini’s departure at the start of next year and are willing to run the risk of losing him for nothing in the hope of convincing the midfielder to sign a new deal.

However, Fellaini will be free to sign a pre-contract agreement with foreign sides from January 1 if United fail to resolve his future before then.

It caps a remarkable turnaround in Fellaini’s United career that his departure would be seen as a blow for Jose Mourinho after spending the first few years of his time at the club as a scapegoat for all of their problems.

Mourinho has made it clear that Fellaini is one of his most important players on several occasions since becoming United manager in 2016 and would be reluctant to lose the Belgian.

In fact, United have a significantly better win ratio in the Premier League under Mourinho with Fellaini in the starting XI (57.1%) compared to when he has not featured from the off (46.4%).