Introducing: Fellaini

On Monday, Manchester United completed the signing of towering midfielder Marouane Fellaini from Everton. Here, we cast an eye over the Belgian's career to date...

Born: 22/11/1987; Etterbeek, Belgium

Background: Fellaini began his career at Standard Liege, for whom he made 64 appearances and scored nine goals during two impressive seasons at the club. Notably, his efforts caught the eye of then-Everton manager David Moyes, who bought him for a club record fee of £12million on transfer deadline day in September, 2008. Of course, the pair went on to form a highly successful partnership at Goodison Park, helping the Toffees to hold their own against bigger-spending clubs. Meanwhile, the 25-year-old has earned 42 international caps for his native Belgium.

Where does he play? In recent seasons, Marouane has successfully adopted the number 10 position, but in truth, that was partly due to Everton’s limited options up front. Perhaps more commonly, he is more often deployed as a deep-lying midfielder; offering a solid screen in front of the back four.

We have history, don’t we? Fellaini has been a thorn in United’s side of late, most recently heading Everton to victory on the opening night of last season, 2012/13. That match was preceded by the infamous 4-4 draw at Old Trafford in the latter stages of the previous campaign, during which he scored a fine second-half volley. So let’s be thankful he’s swapped Blue for Red, eh!