Reports: Marouane Fellaini loan deal close after Manchester United agree to pick up partial wages

Unlike most of Napoli's dealings this summer, this one's starting to come together in quite a hurry. Just a week after it was first rumored, it sounds like a deal to loan in Marouane Fellaini might be very close to becoming a reality after Manchester United has apparently relented on some of their desires involved in the negotiations.

Originally, Manchester wanted some €16 million for Fellaini in the form of a permanent transfer deal, which Napoli understandably balked at. Fellaini had a terrible season for Manchester last year, falling well short of the expectations brought by the €32 million deal that took him there from Everton last summer. Now with a new manager and a bloated wage bill, United want to dump his €125,000 per week wages off the roster for good.

Napoli have been the only club that have engaged them on taking Fellaini, however, and the partenopei have not been willing to play ball with the English giants' demands. Since they're gambling on a player who's never been as good as his reputation and is coming off a horrible campaign, they'd rather take the extra insurance of a loan with an option to buy that kicks in as mandatory after a certain number of matches.

Since Napoli don't have the same wage budget that a club with the massive revenues of Manchester United can carry, they've also requested that the English club pay half Fellaini's wages for the season, which according to Sky Sport Italia, United has finally relented to do just that. While Fellaini still seems like a dubious fit for Napoli, getting him on loan at half wages is much more tenable than it would be otherwise.

The timing of a potential deal seems to be dubious; websites reporting the details are quoting a TV report from Italy, but their reporting varies a bit from source to source. Some say that Fellaini will be in Naples for a medical tomorrow, others that he'll be there later in the week after Manchester return to England after their American tour.

Either way, it seems like we really could be seeing Fellaini in a blue shirt this season. Guess ADL really does like his hair.