Manchester United: Louis van Gaal keen to retain Marouane Fellaini amid interest from AC Milan

Manchester United have rejected a loan bid for out-of-favour midfielder Marouane Fellaini from Italian giants AC Milan with Louis van Gaal unwilling to part with the player. Fellaini has mainly been used as an auxiliary striker during the latter part of games that have seen the Red Devils on the wrong end of the scoreline.

The Belgian has struggled for regular game time this season under the Dutchman, but the manager is keen to retain him until the end of the season. According to the Independent, the mid-fielder, who has started just four Premier League games this season, is seen as a valuable striking option to Wayne Rooney or Anthony Martial despite playing most of his career as a midfielder.

The Dutchman has tended to use the former Everton star as a backup forward when the 20-times English champions are chasing games, and the recent lack of goals from the regular forward has prompted the manager to reject the bid from Milan. The San Siro outfit are keen to strengthen their midfield options and improve their chances of qualifying for the Champions League by the end of the season.

Fellaini has failed to impress the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona manager with his performances this season, and has found himself increasingly on the bench after managing just one goal in 10 league appearances. Despite his lack of impact, the Dutchman is unwilling to let him leave during the ongoing January transfer window due to his ability of providing a different avenue of attack.

The Red Devils have won just one of their last nine games in all competitions and they find themselves in sixth place on the Premier League table. The report claimed that the 28-year-old Belgian, who arrived from Goodison Park in a £27.5m ($40.4m) deal, will consider his future at the club in the summer despite being contracted to the club until the summer of 2018.