Mourinho 'worried' about lagging Fellaini contract talks

Jose Mourinho admitted he's concerned about the sluggish contract talks with rangy midfielder Marouane Fellaini.

The Belgian is in the final year of his contact at Manchester United after the club exercised an option to extend his deal by 12 months in the summer.

Mourinho was asked about the futures of Fellaini and Luke Shaw in Friday's press conference, and responded: "I'm worried about Fellaini and not about Luke Shaw, because Fellaini finishes his contract and Luke Shaw doesn't," as reported by ESPN FC's Rob Dawson.

Fellaini could be described as a coach's pet, with Mourinho telling reporters in September that "he's a very important player for me, much more important than you can imagine." The former Standard Liege and Everton man has proven himself as devastating in the air for some years, but is also an important component of his manager's battling, physical midfield in Stretford. It's been quite the transformation for a player who was previously an unwanted reminder of the ill-fated David Moyes tenure.

Fellaini is dealing with a medial knee ligament issue, and missed his fifth match in the row when Manchester United kicked off against Tottenham Hotspur in Saturday's early kick-off.