Why Marouane Fellaini to Tottenham would be a smart move

The Daily Mail suggests that Jose Mourinho is eyeing a reunion with Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini at Tottenham.

Fellaini and Mourinho worked together at Manchester United before for two and a half years before the manager was sacked by the Old Trafford hierarchy last December. The Belgian, who moved to United in 2013 was an integral member of the squad under David Moyes and Jose Mourinho.

Later on, when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer became the caretaker manager of the Red Devils, Fellaini fell out of favour and in February this year, he completed a £10.5m move to Chinese club Shandong Luneng.

In 34 games for the Chinese outfit, Fellaini has scored 12 times and provided 5 assists, including the winner he scored on his Chinese Super League debut.

He has been impressive for the Asian side and now Daily Mail confirms that Tottenham boss Mourinho has contacted him over a potential move to North London in the winter.

The Belgian international was heavily a favourite under Mourinho at Old Trafford. Fellaini can work both as a central and defensive midfielder. He is also known for his late runs into the box and with his towering presence, he has scored plenty of goals in his career.

Meanwhile, Tottenham are in a good run of form since the Portuguese took over the reins in November. They have taken a huge stride in their league position from the bottom half of the table to 6^th in the standings.

Mourinho, despite having some excellent midfielders like Harry Winks, Eric Dier, Moussa Sissoko and Tanguy Ndombele at his disposal, has identified Tottenham’s engine room as an area which needs improvement.

Ndombele has not lived up to his potential, whereas Dier is yet to convince the manager. Harry Winks has been injured quite often and there is no player who has cemented his spot in the midfield under the new boss.

In this regard, Fellaini would be quite a brilliant addition to Tottenham’s squad. He has got enough experience in England and his time at Manchester United and Everton are proof of him being able to handle the toughest league in the world.

In his last days in United colours, Mourinho introduced him from the bench more often in demanding situations. He was known to carry out the manager’s plans perfectly at that time. With some dirty works in his game style, Fellaini was exactly the super-sub that United needed to rescue themselves from defeat.

And this season, Fellaini has done well in Asia. According to Whoscored, the midfielder has registered 2.1 shots and 0.6 key passes per game. He has impressed with his passing at a rate of 85.3% accuracy.

Thus, at Tottenham, Mourinho can use him quite often to provide stability to the team’s midfield. He is also capable of scoring at crucial times. With his experience, he can offer some resistance and defensively, he would be helpful to the team, where other midfielders can move forward with Fellaini staying behind.

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Verdict

Fellaini’s signing would pay off well for Mourinho, who is known to have a strong bond with the Belgian. The 6ft 4in midfielder would also add some depth and quality to the squad.

Fellaini’s presence in Tottenham’s midfield would be helpful for the manager as he has the ability to disrupt the opponent’s rhythm with ease. Therefore, Marouane Fellaini must be a top priority for Tottenham and they must convince him to return to Europe in the winter.