Fellaini’s performances have recalled Vieira at his best, which is more than can be said for the Frenchman at Manchester City

Most of the Liverpool supporters sitting near me at the recent Merseyside derby were jeering Marouane Fellaini as he lay injured on the touchline – the suggestion seemed to be that he was milking the situation in order to bring about the dismissal of Sotirios Kyrgiakos – so presumably they will be happy now that the Everton midfielder has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

No one else will be. Fellaini’s absence will be felt most deeply at Goodison Park, where David Moyes does not yet have the sort of squad capable of easily absorbing the loss of such an influential and effective player, as was shown in what remained of the derby when Everton, without their main competitor, were no match for Liverpool’s 10 men. But even away from Merseyside Fellaini was well on his way to becoming one of the glories of English football and one of the hardest-working and combative players in the Premier League, as well as one of its most recognisable.

It was not always that way. Indeed, when Fellaini first arrived at the start of last season, his conspicuous appearance marked him out for criticism at times when he probably just wanted to blend into the background. Moyes took a huge gamble on the Belgian, investing a club record £15m in a performer who had stood out for Standard Liege but was a far from familiar name to most people in England.

While top-four clubs think nothing of shelling out that sort of money on raw prospects who might be outstanding in a couple of years’ time, Everton had to go out on a financial limb to back their manager’s instincts. With no transfer kitty to speak of, in fact no surplus money in the bank at all, Everton financed the Fellaini deal by selling two popular players, Andrew Johnson and James McFadden, for almost exactly the total required.

So when Fellaini arrived on Merseyside a certain amount of curiosity as well as excitement preceded him, and there was no escaping the fact, since he stood head, shoulders and haircut above the rest of the Everton team, that initially he was as ungainly as the original ugly duckling. He was all arms, legs and elbows and looked too tall to fit into midfield.

He looked like he might be better suited to a role in the second row down the road at St