Ander Herrera Spanish Court Date Moved to After Everton vs. Manchester United

Ander Herrera was due to appear in Spanish court 12 hours after Manchester United face Newcastle United as part of a La Liga match-fixing probe, according to reports. However, he will now head into Wednesday's match without distraction after his court date was postponed to April 27.

Continue for updates.

---

Herrera Court Date Postponed

Wednesday, Mar. 4

ESPN confirmed Herrera still needs to make the trip to Spain, but will do so at a later date:

"

Ander Herrera's court appearance in connection with alleged match-fixing has been put back until April 27. [...] Former Zaragoza midfielder Herrera was due to appear at a court in Valencia on March 5, but will now be called to appear the day after United's Premier League fixture at Everton.

"

---

Herrera Summoned to Spanish Court in Match-Fixing Probe

Wednesday, Feb. 4

Herrera took part in the controversial 2011 tie between his old club Real Zaragoza and Levante, which finished 2-1 in Zaragoza's favour. This allowed the side to avoid relegation, but the result forced investigators into action after they "suspected wrong-doing," per Rajvir Rai of the MailOnline.

Prosecutors alleged that money was paid to the Levante players for them to lose the game, though this has been denied.

Court proceedings will begin on Wednesday, with Herrera outlined as one of 41 witnesses ready to step forward, as reported by Spanish newspaper AS (h/t Rai). He was previously set to appear at 9:30 a.m. on the Thursday, with the Red Devils facing Newcastle at St. James' Park at 7:30 p.m. the night before.

Alastair Grant/Associated Press

Herrera's first season in England hasn't progressed how he would have perhaps liked. The crafty midfielder has generally performed well for United, offering creative attacking play, quality in possession and the ability to break up the opposition's forays forward. Only recently has he managed a consistent run of games in the starting 11, though.

Louis van Gaal previously suggested he prefers Marouane Fellaini's size and physicality to the smaller frame of Herrera. He underlined why the players were switched during October's draw with West Bromwich Albion, as reported by Charles Perrin of the Express:

"

Herrera has played normal I think. Not very good but normal. We have to look also for physical balance and maybe that’s our problem. I’m a coach who always is thinking about creative players but in England you need also physical bodies in your team and Fellaini is one of these.

"

David Ramos/Getty Images

Football writer Sam Pilger believes Herrera deserves more game time:

One has to remember that Herrera wasn't actually Van Gaal's signing. The transfer was set in motion during David Moyes' tenure, only for LvG to green light his arrival after it was initially held up after "imposters" tried to influence the deal in the previous year, per Chris Wheeler of the Daily Mail.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Van Gaal no longer has a reason to overlook Herrera against the Magpies. The midfielder denies wrongdoing in the case, per Rai, and can now concentrate on the tough fixture ahead.