Will Chelsea trigger Fellaini buy-out clause?

It's no surprise really, we all know Marouane Fellaini has ambitions to play in the UEFA Champions League.

We all knew for years that the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea had all been keeping a close eye on the Belgian Internationals developments.

So when the 25-year-old signed a new multi-year contract at Goodison in 2011 it was always believed that there would be various clauses in the contract to enable Fellaini to speak to other clubs of a certain level.

That has now been confirmed with The Echo reporting that there is a buy-out clause, but it's higher than the previously reported £22 million and is only valid for clubs in the UEFA Champions League.

So why has this story hit the headlines now? Does Fellaini want to leave Goodison Park during this January transfer window?

The answer to that would appear to be no, so the only reason why this has hit the papers is because Chelsea have of course been a long-term admirer of Fellaini and with speculation regarding Frank Lampard leaving the club the Belgian could be seen as his replacement.

Chelsea have also recently took advantage of a similar buy-out clause to sign Demba Ba from Newcastle, so its currently a hot topic, but don't expect to see any movement on this over the next few weeks.

In fact Fellaini has even made comments trying to dampen down the speculation, by saying two weeks ago: "I have a contract with Everton until 2016, and, if the club want, I will see that out, I know I am hot, and I want to move forward one day, but I will finish my Everton contract if they want me to."

Doesn't sound like a player desperate to run for the exit.

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