Fellaini impressed by compatriot Mirallas

Lyndon Lloyd , 21 March, 18comments | Jump to most recent

'There is more to come from him'

Marouane Fellaini has highlighted the ease with which Kevin Mirallas, has adapted to life in the Premier League.

The forward joined Everton from Olympiakos last August for £5.3m and has proved to be a big hit with Evertonians.

Though his first campaign at Goodison was disrupted by a hamstring injury in December and January, the 25 year-old is once again showing some electric form and his international teammate Fellaini says there is more to come.

"Everybody knows Mirallas has quality," Fellaini told the Echo.

"He can score goals and is an important player for Everton. Every game he can contribute and I think he has. I hope for him that he keeps going like this.

"He can dribble and is involved in the action, which is important for forward players. He can score goals and takes good corners, so he is important for the team. Of course there is more to come from him."

Everton's two Belgian stars are preparing for the Red Devilss' World Cup qualifying Group A double-header against Macedonia this weekend and Fellaini points out that his country's current crop of players is very much in demand.

"We have a lot of good players now for Belgium," he added. "I think there are 10 players playing in England. All the time in Belgium the talk is about the Premier League.

"We have a good team and we have two important games which I hope to win. We have some good young players and everybody wants to keep going so we can go to the World Cup."

Fellaini will be sidelined by suspension when he returns to Everton from international duty after picking up his 10th booking of the season in the win over Manchester City last Saturday.

And Phil Jagielka later revealed that the Belgian had played through the pain against City:

"He had a painful ankle problem before the City game and he could have milked it and missed the game before disappearing off on international week, but he was desperate to play," he said.

"He strapped himself up and put in a great performance. You cannot question his commitment. Felli has taken all the beatings for us throughout the season and he will feel sometimes like the world is against him. Sometimes it has been."

Quotes or other material sourced from Sky Sports

Reader Comments (18)

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Tony Farrell
2 Posted 21/03/2013 at 23:28:58

I don't think Fellaini gives a toss about his Everton future True Mirallas is a natural gifted player, he's the nearest thing I've seen since the Dave Thomas era, and you auld Blues will know what I am talking about. Fellaini's season is now focused on Belgium and who's coming in for him in the summer.

He reckons he had influence in bringing Super Kev to the club... my fear is he has the same influence in taking him away from the club. It will interesting to see how we cope with the loss of him and Pienaar over the next two games. It's a case of getting used to it, Blues, cos we won't have him next season (Pienaar will stay). It's a big ask to finish 5th... not beyond us, but let's beat the Shite at Anfield and see what the summer brings.

James Flynn
3 Posted 21/03/2013 at 23:46:01

Me too.

Nick Entwistle
4 Posted 21/03/2013 at 23:47:41

Yup, same here.

Phil Sammon
5 Posted 22/03/2013 at 00:11:24

He's exactly what we've needed at EFC for years. Pace and flair. I still do think he's holding back a tad at the moment. You look at some of the things he was doing at Olympiacos and they are just ridiculous. He makes Ronaldo look like David Batty. I'd like to see a bit more of the tricks...but maybe that should be reserved for when we're 2-0 up - which rarely happens.

Certainly a good signing though. Seems a nice lad too.

James Stewart
6 Posted 22/03/2013 at 00:35:19

Our best player.

Edward Simpson
8 Posted 22/03/2013 at 01:07:40

James- I think you could be right. If he gets some consistency leading into next year and beyond I think he could be. Baines is, and has been our best player for a while now, I think.

Danny Kewley
9 Posted 22/03/2013 at 01:38:29

A complete natural, I hope he is encouraged to express himself and show himself off
like I would like to do if I had his skills!
definitely Evertons best player!!!!!!!

Harold Matthews
10 Posted 22/03/2013 at 02:16:01

Can't quite manage 93 minutes but is a real handful and getting better every week.

Tony Draper
11 Posted 22/03/2013 at 09:08:15

He's positive in his approach and attacks with real purpose. The disappointment has been his fitness, which is a matter beyond his control.

Overall, I reckon he's had a VERY encouraging first season so far. He seems intelligent and so I genuinely feel that the best is yet to come.

And Tony F, YES, I completely agree, shades of Thomas & McKenzie about Mirallas. Which is no bad thing in my opinion.

Ross Edwards
12 Posted 22/03/2013 at 13:09:55

Kev is our best player, and it would be great if we could keep him for the next 4-5 years, but soon he will become fed up with missing out on European football and trophies and will want a bigger stage to showcase his talent. Don't mean to lower the mood but we have to enjoy his performances and talent while we can.

Richard Reeves
13 Posted 22/03/2013 at 16:44:00

I just wish we had more players like him; players willing to attack, control, pass and strike the ball to a high standard. Not really the sort of signing I would've expected from Moyes but, then again, he is one of the first hauled off for players with very little talent, even when playing well.

Lee Courtliff
14 Posted 22/03/2013 at 20:09:42

Quickly becoming my favourite player.

Pace,skill and I expect double figures from him next season.

Mark Frere
15 Posted 22/03/2013 at 20:15:01

He has world class natural ability, unlike his international team-mate, Fellaini. I think Fellaini is vastly overrated; he can score his fair share of goals and is a bit of a handful, but lacks creativity and technical skill.

He is always perceived as our best and most important player by the media and Match of the Day; nothing could be further from the truth. The sooner some club has the stupidity to pay us £30 million for his services, the better it is for us to bring some quality and numbers into the squad.

Vijay Badhan
16 Posted 22/03/2013 at 22:39:33

Baines without question is the most talented player we have on our books; however, if Mirallas shows the skills we have seen glimpses of this season he could well take over that mantle from Baines, although he would have to be consistently good over a few seasons as Baines has been.

Timothy Sebastian
17 Posted 23/03/2013 at 03:50:37

Personally, I think we play better without Fellaini in the team. Don't get me wrong, he's a fantastic player and one who can be totally unplayable when he gets a chance. But I think as a team, we perform much better when he's not in the first eleven.

It has something to do with each player coming out of their shell and depending on Fellaini to pull something out of the bag. When he's in the team, we almost play as well or as badly as he does.

I also feel his mood on the field has a big impact on the team that is built around hard work and each one doing a specific job. When Fellaini is off-colour and sulky, I find that the spirit of the side starts to wither accordingly.

Worst still, when he starts to lose his head during the game, there's a level of stress and irritation that builds within the team and among the fans which causes us to lose focus and make our play disjointed. I would be happy to see him go off in the close season for a £25 mil price tag with the thanks of the Everton faithful.

Peter Bell
18 Posted 23/03/2013 at 10:38:28

Mirallas & Gibson are the two most important players to the team this season. Mirallas seems a different player when Gibson is playing and controlling the middle of the park.

I'm convinced that, had both been fit all season, half of those draws would have been wins and we would have comfortably been in a Champions League position.

Kev was tearing the RS to bits until the Ratboy kicked him out of the game. Made Wisdom look more like Norman, than Andre...

Michael Kenrick
Editorial Team
19 Posted 24/03/2013 at 03:18:07

A bit late spotting this qoute, from Phil Jagielka, regarding the Big Fella:

"He had a painful ankle problem before the City game and he could have milked it and missed the game before disappearing off on international week, but he was desperate to play," he said.

[I stuck it up top for good measure...]

Peter Norris
20 Posted 24/03/2013 at 08:34:38

Richard (#201). He's only "hauled" off (as you put it) as his fitness is not at the level Moyes needs for a 90-minute-plus stint as, given his injuries this year, he is still adapting to the PL in year 1.

Another unnecessary dig at Moyes, who, let's face it, will know more about the fitness of his players to compete for the full complement of the demands of a PL match.

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