Giant attacker could be a Red Devil as early as the weekend.
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Manchester United are on the verge of sealing a £22 million deal for coveted Everton midfield player Marouane Fellaini after triggering the release clause in the Belgium’s current contract at Goodison Park.
The Premier League champions had been closely monitoring the situation of FC Barcelona playmaker Cesc Fabregas all summer long, with recently appointed Red Devils head coach David Moyes having made the Spain international his number one target of the close-season transfer window.
However, following face-to-face talks with new Barca boss Gerardo Martino on Monday, the former Arsenal skipper has now decided to stay at Camp Nou next season after all, with the 26-year-old having been given assurances by the Paraguayan about his place in the Spanish champions’ midfield going forward.
And that means that Moyes has now switched his attentions back towards his former player, with the Scot desperately seeking to add some much-needed creativity to the United midfield in the upcoming campaign following the retirement of veteran playmaker Paul Scholes at the end of last season.
But the north-west giants have been forced to act fast as the £22m release clause in the Belgium’s present contract at Goodison Park, which runs until June 2016, increases in value after Aug 1 for any interested party that is also competing in next season’s Uefa Champions League.
United are understood to have offered to significantly increase the 25-year-old’s present £75,000-per-week Toffees salary in order to convince Fellaini to make the move to Old Trafford this summer, with negotiations expected to be successfully completed by the weekend.