Everton's Marouane Fellaini in for a rough ride?

A lot can be told about a player when he gives his first real interview after joining a club, and that's certainly true of Everton's £15million signing Marouane Fellaini. It appears the Morocco-born Belgium international didn't see eye-to-eye with the referees on the continent.

The poor lad is certainly in for a rude awakening if he thinks the English contingent are any better!

The 20-year-old, who joined on deadline day, has certainly made Everton's squad look stronger. While the arrival of Louis Saha is a bonus, it remains to be seen whether the former Manchester United striker can put his injury problems behind him for any decent length of time.

Fellaini, meanwhile, is a midfielder with a fair amount of power. And, it must be said, a fair amount of pressure given Everton have blown £15million on him. Then again, a team with genuine Champions League ambitions will probably have to pay far more than £15million for a player given the events of the previous transfer window and the (rumoured) imminent takeover of Liverpool.

Fellaini told SkySports.com: "I am a top player but referees in Belgium do not respect me. Anytime I put my leg in, there is a yellow card. That is what pushed me to the Premier League. There they let you play, it's a man's game there and I'm looking forward to it.

In the modern game, the power is clearly with the player (look no further than the Berbatov situation), so it's almost heartwarming to hear Fellaini had no idea Standard Liege were holding talks with Everton until one hour before the transfer window shut.

He said: "I was not aware Liege were discussing my transfer to Everton. I heard about the transfer on 31st August at around 11pm and went to the Sheraton Hotel to meet with the Everton delegation."

A non-nonsense midfielder with a large price-tag who likes getting stuck-in and seems to think referees are too strict? He'll either settle in and be player-of-the-season at Goodison or pick up a new record-haul of red cards!