Premier League - Everton land £15m Fellaini

Eurosport - Tue, 02 Sep 13:17:00 2008

Everton have broken their transfer record to sign Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini for an initial £15 million from Standard Liege.

2008-2009 Standard Liege Marouane Fellaini - 0

The 20-year-old has signed a five-year deal, with the Toffees confirming the fee will rise throughout that time.

The deal was completed by chairman Bill Kenwright and manager David Moyes leading up to the midnight transfer deadline and announced in the early hours.

"This is fantastic news for everyone connected with the club," acting chief executive Robert Elstone told the Toffees' official website.

"We have signed one of European football's most exciting prospects, who will have a huge part to play at Everton over the next five years.

"I spoke with Bill Kenwright and David Moyes shortly after concluding the deal and they are delighted we have managed to secure his services.

"It came late on, like a lot of the big deals in the Premier League, but he's with us and we look forward to welcoming him to Goodison."

Fellaini joined Liege - Everton's forthcoming opponents in the first round of the UEFA Cup - two years ago and made 84 appearances for the Belgian champions, scoring 11 times.

He has also played 10 times for Belgium and represented his country at the Beijing Olympics, where he was sent off in the opening game for two yellow cards against Brazil.

Fellaini's arrival at Goodison Park follows those of keeper Carlo Nash, who signed from Wigan, and Manchester United striker Louis Saha.

Sporting Life / Eurosport

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  1. moysey will turn this lad into a gem,look what he did for carsley!saha passed his 2 day intensive medical and its pay as you play so great bit of business if he plays even half the season,RIERA,wow he was brilliant at city LOL,GO ON YOU BLUES,CAL,DUBLIN

    From c.lapsley, on Tue 2 Sep 9:53PM
  2. i tink he is a great signin he had a great game against the scum last week and the scum got lucky...good luck fellaini hope u get a few goals 4 us and link up well wit mikel and co in the midfield.oh i read on the paper section dat everton also agreed a deal for VAGNAR LOVE from cska moscow for 12million pounds but he wont join until next year and although they are selling love 2 us they have demanded he stays until the end of the russian season.Vagnar Love is due to join in January.

    From David Ryan, on Tue 2 Sep 5:32PM
  3. Well i just hope Everton remember to wrap saha up in cotton wool before every game and training session then maybe just maybe ya might get 10 games out of him ........ If he does stay fit he will score goals though

    From Eagle3777, on Tue 2 Sep 4:52PM
  4. is it true that SAHA had to withdraw from training today,after pulling his hamstring getting out of his car in the EVERTON car park ??????
    man u fan. ps. have you checked out liverpool's new signing from dartford fc FREDDY EGGFLIP he's already had his wheels stolen (while the car was moving). hehehehehehehehe

    From fluffy.bits, on Tue 2 Sep 4:29PM
  5. richard. i understand what u are saying and totaly agree! i was just trying to make the point of, who knows what this young lad is going to be like? like all foriegn players coming over to play in this league u just dont know how they r going to adapt to our game. i am just hoping he turns out to be a qaulity young player who can fit in well with the team, and if at the end of the season he isnt then maybe we can say( what a waste of money) and just a quick comment on MIC post. the bulgarian league isnt really that hard either yet man.u still pay £30m for berv! lets just wait and see...

    From catherinedann@..., on Tue 2 Sep 2:57PM
  6. Fellaini is a decent player for his age, but just not a £15million pound quite yet & thats not taking in to account that the fee will rise. Everton hav paid over the odds here (Big Time) - muppets, remember he is coming from a Belgian football team which is hardly the most difficult league in the world to play in. Bit like the scottish league. Louis 'Sicknote' Saha also gone to Everton! Are lot off you trolley? Why would anyone want to buy a player who spends more time in the treatment room than kicking a football........

    From Michael B, on Tue 2 Sep 1:56PM
  7. catherine - The difference is Man U and Chelsea can take these risks because they have money to burn and buying one player that doesn't do too well won't make or break their season. Everton don't have money to burn, if this signing doesn't pay dividends Moyse will be for the high jump.

    From Richard C, on Tue 2 Sep 1:54PM
  8. hi there. iv been reading all these posts and it just seems to me that a lot of people are just @#$% about who buys who and how @#$% they are, to me the problem with buying foriegn players is that noone knows what they are going to be like playing in the english league. look at some past buys, chelsea- shev, great in italy they paid somewhere near £30m and he didn do that much for them. man.u- forlan, not good over here but look what he is like in spain. thats just a couple of examples. i think we should wait till the end of this season and then rate FELLAINI...

    From catherinedann@..., on Tue 2 Sep 1:10PM
  9. Graham - Can't argue with that. If they'd have signed him 5 years ago he would have been worth the money, but imo he's just past his peak (may have another couple of decent seasons left) and will be lucky to get 10 goals this year playing for a boring dis-jointed Slitherpool.

    From Richard C, on Tue 2 Sep 1:04PM
  10. what makes me laugh is all the Liverpool fans taking the mickey out of Moyes signing this belgian lad for 15 million, the lad only needs to string a couple of passes together and make a tackle and he has already proved to be a better signing than Robbie Keane.

    From graham_dale3, on Tue 2 Sep 12:52PM
  11. opowicz - Calling someone a 'dumb f*ck' just because they have a different opinion to yours is not very clever. Do they have manners in Belgium?

    From Richard C, on Tue 2 Sep 12:47PM
  12. LOL at opowicz!

    E-mail me in a years time and we'll see how he's done.

    Lets face it, Emile Heskey would look like Pele playing in the Belgium league. The standard is a lot lower, and thats why he looks such a talant.

    I think he'll flop, then get sold for £5 mil to Wigan or WBA.

    From Richard C, on Tue 2 Sep 12:44PM
  13. to all you moaners I am from belgium i have seen him play on several occasions and trust me for his standards the games he played against liverpool wer not good at all he played decent but he's much much better
    to richard c :dumb f*ck he's worth even more and every top team have him on their scouting list he just was thought to be staying at liege
    so all you guys i know this player and saying he will be a hit in the prem is the understatement of the year
    just imagine roy keane being being as tall as crouch just not as skinny

    From opowicz, on Tue 2 Sep 12:25PM
  14. Looks like your guarantee doesn't mean a lot, Scott S, because I HAVE seen him play on several occasions and he's a very very promising talent.

    From bavodelbeke, on Tue 2 Sep 12:04PM
  15. As a City fan im obviously happy with our signings ,Everton are a well run club with a good manager and a good team , great individuals don't make a great team .At city we have bought a lot of young players as well as home growmn ones,Michael Johnson,SWP(back after making us a 13 mill profit),Micah Richards,Onuoha,Sturridge,Etuhu.
    We have bought in Jo,Kompany,Zapeleta,Berti and now Robinho.So we have a good young team with unproven but improving strikers (Robinho only has a 1 in 4 record).Everton have bought in Saha a proven if injury prone forward with the YAK that could be a well tasty forward partnership the only thing Moyes needed badly was a midfielder if this Belgian is anywhere near as acomplished as Kompany he will prove a great buy and keep Everton up where they deserve in the top 6.

    From mark l, on Tue 2 Sep 11:56AM
  16. Cracking buy, 15mil maybe a panic buy! but he is well over 6ft and full of energy and as Carsley replacement, i have to hand it to Mr Moyes, and at the age of 20 we may have a legend in the making, BUT is he cup tied ????????
    If Saha stays fit there is no doubt he will be banging the goals in and i beleive our Medical staff can look after him better, look at Rooney OVERWEIGHT shriek ! so too many bags of mCCOYS Crisps, and talk about injury prone! Lets talk about Owen Hargreaves or need i say no more ?

    From robbrownie2004, on Tue 2 Sep 11:55AM
  17. this guy is being classed good because he played ok in 1 game.I guarantee noone here has seen him play, or at least actually watched him on more than 1 occasion.

    not saying he wont be good but he is not 1 of the hottest properties in europe

    From yip, on Tue 2 Sep 11:51AM
  18. Richard C, are you saying that you can't judge a player's ability for yourself, and that you have to wait and see if 'big clubs' ( Spurs???? Liverpool???) are interested in him to make the decision? I've only seen Fellaini twice, in both legs of their Champions League qualifier, and I have to say, he did enough to impress me there. His ability to win the ball is something which will be invaluable in any side, and he also seems to be an intelligent player, with good technique. And as for the fee, it may well seem out of proportion, but in the modern era, you have to accept that fees are going to seem extraordinary, and instead focus on two things : 1.) Does the club have the money available? and 2.) Is he what the club needs?. If the answer to both of these is yes, then if you want to sign the player, you meet the asking price.

    From Paul M, on Tue 2 Sep 11:43AM
  19. I just wonder if Everton have a bad season and finish say.. 15th, Where can they go from there? They won't have any more money and it will be even harder to attract players.

    From Richard C, on Tue 2 Sep 11:37AM
  20. b4 you all kiss bens arse realise "citys crook of an owner" didnt exactly leave us in the @#$% did he? petrov,elano,s.w.p all brought in during his reign

    From BallsDeep, on Tue 2 Sep 11:32AM
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