Schneiderlin deal with Man United agreed
A deal for Morgan Schneiderlin to move from Southampton to Manchester United has been agreed and the French midfielder has been given permission to undergo a medical with the Old Trafford club, a source has told ESPN FC. The fee is reportedly in excess of £25 million.
Southampton manager Ronald Koeman and club officials were bemused by United’s failure to follow up their initial offer for Schneiderlin last month with a second bid, despite the suggestion that a revised offer would be put forward to sign the 25-year-old French midfielder.
Yet fresh dialogue between the two clubs took place in recent days, with agreement swiftly being reached over a deal that will see Schneiderlin bring down the curtain on his seven-year stay at Southampton, which has seen him play in three divisions for the club.
The player leaves with the blessing of Southampton after he agreed to stay at the club for one more season despite firm offers of interest from rivals clubs last summer.
Southampton were keen to stem the flow of star names out of the club following the exits of Luke Shaw, Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren after last season and informed a disappointed Schneiderlin that he would have to wait for his big move.
His professionalism in helping the club into the Europa League for the upcoming season earned him the respect of his teammates, but he had made it clear once again since returning to training two weeks ago that he was keen to move on ahead of the new season.
Arsenal had also expressed an interest in the Frenchman’s services and when United announced the transfer of German World Cup winning midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger on Saturday, there were suspicions that they might not make a second bid for Schneiderlin.
Yet confirmation of an agreement has now been made public, with Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger set to link up with the United squad on their pre-season tour of America.
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