Marouane Fellaini has vowed to “fight for my place” in Manchester United’s strongest XI, with the midfielder informed by the manager, Louis van Gaal, that he can have a future at the club.

Fellaini has endured a nightmare time at United since David Moyes signed him for £27.5m last summer. Moyes was sacked in April and injuries and unconvincing form had cast serious doubt over the Belgian being part of Van Gaal’s plans.

Yet despite Fellaini coming close to moving to Napoli in the summer, it is understood the Dutchman did not identify the 26-year-old as one of the clutch of players who should head the list of potential departures before the transfer window closed on 1 September.

With Fellaini now at United until the winter window opens, at least, he wants to try to force his way into Van Gaal’s first-choice side. “I want to fight for my place,” he said. “The coach wants to play with the 11 players who make the best team. I want to be part of that.”

He added: “I’ve had a meeting with the coach before the start of the season where he told me that there is a lot of competition in midfield. I told him that I wanted to compete with the other players for a place in the starting XI.

“Louis van Gaal is a good coach. We have a lot of team meetings and he analyses much – other teams, our own players at training, a lot. Everywhere he has been, he was successful.”