Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs has heaped praise on Marouane Fellaini for repaying the faith shown in him by manager Jose Mourinho.

Fellaini has regularly been linked with a move away from Old Trafford in recent seasons and was even booed by sections of his own supporters last term following a poor spell of form.

However, Mourinho has consistently defended the Belgian, and Fellaini has responded this season with four goals in seven appearances across all competitions - including a brace in Saturday's 4-0 win over Crystal Palace.

"Marouane Fellaini has really proved his importance, stepping in for Paul Pogba. He has scored important goals, as he did at Everton, and I'm really pleased for him after taking a lot of stick over the years," Giggs told Sky Sports News.

"I've worked with him and he's a great lad to train because he does exactly what you want, and hasn't let the fans bother him because he's always had the support of the players and the coaches.

"He is effective, knows his strengths and limitations, and he's somebody who Jose has put a lot of faith in and he has repaid that with some important goals."

Fellaini is already just three goals short of his highest-scoring Premier League season since arriving at Old Trafford.