Morgan Schneiderlin has reached an agreement with Southampton that will see him definitely leave the club this summer. The midfielder, valued at £24million wants to stay in England with Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United interested.
Arsenal had been tipped to tie up the signing of Schneiderlin early in the transfer window, but it is believed that Arsene Wenger does not want to spend £24million on the French midfielder. Manchester United are also heavily interested, as are Tottenham – but the player wants to play in the Champions League next season.
The Daily Mail report that Schneiderlin will definitely leave.
Fresh Arsenal understands that the Gunners remain interested in Schneiderlin but will not complete a transfer whilst his asking price remains at £24million – if Manchester United share a similar view then it could see Southampton accept a lower fee, perhaps in the region of £20million.
Arsenal see the 25 year old as a decent, Premier League proven addition to their midfield. Whilst he is not world class, he is one of the best at what he does in the Premier League, and in rotation with Francis Coquelin, Arsenal could finally have a strong option of physical defensive midfield players.
In tough games, Schneiderlin could play alongside Coquelin to really frustrate teams, but I feel the Frenchman is also capable of playing alongside someone like Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere or Santi Cazorla – and share defensive responsibilities.
What Wenger must consider is if he wants to spend such a large amount of money on a player who may struggle to outperform Coquelin. We have plenty of player who can play alongside Coquelin, but not many who can play instead of him.
What do you think? I feel he could be a very good addition and help strengthen the depth in our squad, there aren’t many better options out there. Someone like Arturo Vidal could be signed, but the Chilean loves to get forward and I can’t see him being able to play as a defensive midfielder alone.