Fellaini Ready To Discuss New Everton Contract

After initially taking this with a shovel of salt it now appears quotes purporting to be from Marouane Fellaini that have been floating around the net for a few hours are in fact from the Belgian as the official Everton site backed them up.

The Everton midfielder’s encouraging words suggest he is ready to discuss a new contract with the club and could still play a part in the rest of Everton’s Premier League season.

I get the sense that this summer is going to be a significant one for Everton. A failure to meet our pre-season expectations as well as worrying financial results mean David Moyes maybe under pressure to sell some of his best players in order to balance the books and refresh the squad.

Marouane Fellaini is one of those players. With just two year’s left on his current deal the fear was – and still is – that if he decides he wants to leave and kicks up a fuss there is very little the club can do as they cannot afford to let Fellaini run his contract down like Pienaar did.

Fellaini’s annoying vocal father has also made us all jumpy, with frequent public ramblings about a potential move to Chelsea. With Fellaini currently sidelined with an ankle injury there was a genuine fear the he would never been seen in an Everton shirt again.

However…

Today it appears Fellaini actually wants to stay at Goodison Park and although talks have yet to begin (where I expect player and club valuations with regard to wages to differ markedly) he is prepared to sign a new deal and could even play a part in the final few games of the season.

"Everton are a club that really care about me. My relationship with the manager is excellent and I'm delighted that he considers me a key player and wants to extend my contract.

"The discussions have not yet begun, but I don't suppose they are far off. For my part, I'm ready and waiting."

"My operation went well," he added. "The plaster came off on Monday and that'll allow me to fully begin my rehab.

"If everything goes well I hope to be able to help Everton at the end of the season. I'm happy with our recent results. We've not lost in the league since February 13 and a Europa League place is possible for us."