Marouane Fellaini confirms he has spoken with AC Milan

Belgium international Marouane Fellaini has acknowledged that he was in contact with AC Milan regarding a potential move in the summer of 2018. The midfielder had been heavily linked with the Rossoneri following the World Cup last year, but he instead decided to commit his future to Manchester United on a two-year deal.

However, his time with the Red Devils would only last for six more months before he pursued a permanent move to Shandong Luneng. In a report covered by Calciomercato, Fellaini has admitted that he likes the atmosphere in Italy and he could have made the switch to the Rossoneri last summer barring the intervention of manager Jose Mourinho, who was the Red Devils boss back then.

He said: “I like Italian life. It’s hot, you have passion and the food is spectacular. I just have to learn Italian, but for this I should live there and in the past I went near it. A year ago there was this other opportunity, my agent spoke to Milan. But I know Mourinho very well, I felt good with him and he wanted me to stay at United: it was easy to choose to stay a few more months. Mourinho for me is a great man and I still feel him.”

Mourinho was sacked during the month of December last year after United were struggling to keep aloft with the top four in the Premier League. Shortly after, it was clear that Fellaini won’t be hanging around with the Mancunian giants and he made the switch to the Far East with Shandong, where he has found good success with seven goals and two assists across all competitions.

Elsewhere, United are performing a minor rebuild after the sixth-place finish last season and they have recruited Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka to date. The focus of United has lied on pursuing young players with potential rather than splashing the cash on big-money signings in the search for instant success.