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| Southampton tell Tottenham Morgan Schneiderlin will cost more than £27m | Southampton tell Tottenham Morgan Schneiderlin will cost more than £27m |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Andy Hunter and David Hytner | |
| Liverpool have taken their summer spending to £80m – and could reach the £100m mark in the coming days – after agreeing a £20m fee with Southampton for Dejan Lovren. The Croatia international’s signature has been a priority for Brendan Rodgers all summer as the Liverpool manager seeks to address his team’s defensive shortcomings and a deal has finally been agreed for the centre-half to become the third player to transfer from St Mary’s Stadium to Anfield since the end of last season. Lovren is expected to undergo a medical on Merseyside on Saturday. | |
| Southampton had rejected an offer of £16m for the World Cup defender, whom they signed from Lyon for £8m 12 months ago, but with Lovren informing the new manager, Ronald Koeman, he wished to leave for Liverpool, and the Dutchman reluctant to keep unhappy players at his club, the improved offer has enabled Rodgers to make his fifth summer signing. | |
| Having also sold the England left-back Luke Shaw to Manchester United for £27m, Southampton have signalled their determination to hold on to Morgan Schneiderlin by telling suitors, who are headed by Tottenham and Arsenal, that he would cost them in excess of that amount. Koeman will meet Schneiderlin for the first time on Monday, when the France defensive midfielder reports for pre-season. | |
| Koeman has spoken to Schneiderlin on the phone but, when he sees him, he will stress how fundamental the player is to be to the project at St Mary’s. Koeman intends to press on with his incoming business and he is close to a deal for the Celtic centre-half Virgil van Dijk while he has an interest in the Aston Villa centre-half Ron Vlaar. | |
| Southampton will signal their determination to hold on to Morgan Schneiderlin by telling his suitors, who are headed by Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, that he would cost them in excess of the £27m that Manchester United paid for Luke Shaw. | Southampton will signal their determination to hold on to Morgan Schneiderlin by telling his suitors, who are headed by Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, that he would cost them in excess of the £27m that Manchester United paid for Luke Shaw. |
| Ronald Koeman, the new Southampton manager, will meet Schneiderlin for the first time on Monday, when the France defensive midfielder reports for pre-season training, having been on leave since the World Cup finals. Koeman has spoken to Schneiderlin on the phone but when he sees him, he will stress how fundamental the player is to be to the project at St Mary’s. | Ronald Koeman, the new Southampton manager, will meet Schneiderlin for the first time on Monday, when the France defensive midfielder reports for pre-season training, having been on leave since the World Cup finals. Koeman has spoken to Schneiderlin on the phone but when he sees him, he will stress how fundamental the player is to be to the project at St Mary’s. |
| Koeman wants the centre-halves in his 4-3-3 formation to be able to step out of defence with the ball at their feet and so Schneiderlin’s ability to tuck in will be crucial. Southampton have already sold Shaw to United; Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert to Liverpool for a combined £29.5m and Dejan Lovren is also poised to move to Anfield. Southampton will receive £20m for a player that cost them £8.5m last summer from Lyon. | Koeman wants the centre-halves in his 4-3-3 formation to be able to step out of defence with the ball at their feet and so Schneiderlin’s ability to tuck in will be crucial. Southampton have already sold Shaw to United; Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert to Liverpool for a combined £29.5m and Dejan Lovren is also poised to move to Anfield. Southampton will receive £20m for a player that cost them £8.5m last summer from Lyon. |
| They have no need or intention to sell Schneiderlin and, if bids were to be submitted, they hope that their valuation of the 24-year-old would serve as a deterrent. | They have no need or intention to sell Schneiderlin and, if bids were to be submitted, they hope that their valuation of the 24-year-old would serve as a deterrent. |
| Southampton accept that they got over the odds for Shaw, the 19-year-old England left-back, but they believe that Schneiderlin is more valuable, given the position he plays; his status as a France World Cup player at an age when he is primed to fulfil his potential and the fact that the statistics marked him as one of the Premier League’s top holding midfielders last season. | Southampton accept that they got over the odds for Shaw, the 19-year-old England left-back, but they believe that Schneiderlin is more valuable, given the position he plays; his status as a France World Cup player at an age when he is primed to fulfil his potential and the fact that the statistics marked him as one of the Premier League’s top holding midfielders last season. |
| Schneiderlin even qualifies as homegrown, having joined Southampton at the age of 18 from Strasbourg, when the club was in the Championship. He has also played for them in League One. He is a symbol of Southampton’s recent resurgence. | Schneiderlin even qualifies as homegrown, having joined Southampton at the age of 18 from Strasbourg, when the club was in the Championship. He has also played for them in League One. He is a symbol of Southampton’s recent resurgence. |
| Tottenham have tracked him for the last year and they have now taken Mauricio Pochettino to be their manager from Southampton. Pochettino has doubts over Sandro’s capacity to work as the team’s defensive midfielder and he wants Schneiderlin to follow him to White Hart Lane. Schneiderlin talked in glowing terms about Pochettino earlier in the week, crediting him as the man who made him and Southampton play. | Tottenham have tracked him for the last year and they have now taken Mauricio Pochettino to be their manager from Southampton. Pochettino has doubts over Sandro’s capacity to work as the team’s defensive midfielder and he wants Schneiderlin to follow him to White Hart Lane. Schneiderlin talked in glowing terms about Pochettino earlier in the week, crediting him as the man who made him and Southampton play. |
| Arsenal have kept a close watch on Schneiderlin, with the manager, Arsène Wenger, ever alive to the possibility of signing talent from his native France. Wenger, though, is under pressure from boardroom level to retain the British identity of his team and, also, to work with his existing options in central midfield. | Arsenal have kept a close watch on Schneiderlin, with the manager, Arsène Wenger, ever alive to the possibility of signing talent from his native France. Wenger, though, is under pressure from boardroom level to retain the British identity of his team and, also, to work with his existing options in central midfield. |
| Wenger has the British players Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere, plus Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the winger who can play in midfield, along with the Spaniard Mikel Arteta and the Frenchmen Abou Diaby and Mathieu Flamini. Diaby is fit again, although his wretched luck with injury means that it is difficult to rely upon him. | Wenger has the British players Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere, plus Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the winger who can play in midfield, along with the Spaniard Mikel Arteta and the Frenchmen Abou Diaby and Mathieu Flamini. Diaby is fit again, although his wretched luck with injury means that it is difficult to rely upon him. |
| The board would like Wenger to turn the focus inward, rather than look at Schneiderlin or Germany’s Sami Khedira, of Real Madrid, whom he has inquired about. Wenger has always said that a player’s nationality is unimportant. | |
| Southampton have received no bids as yet for Schneiderlin, who wants to test himself at the highest level of club football and it is unclear how he might react if and when they do arrive. | Southampton have received no bids as yet for Schneiderlin, who wants to test himself at the highest level of club football and it is unclear how he might react if and when they do arrive. |
| Koeman intends to press on with his incoming business and he is close to a deal for the Celtic centre-half Virgil van Dijk while he has an interest in the Aston Villa centre-half Ron Vlaar. There is the acceptance at the club that Koeman needs a goalkeeper, one or most likely two centre-backs, a striker, as Dani Osvaldo is available for transfer and, probably, another wide midfielder. | |
| The forward, Jay Rodriguez, has returned to light training after the cruciate knee ligament injury that he suffered last April and which ruled him out of England’s World Cup squad. Rodriguez hopes to play again in October. | The forward, Jay Rodriguez, has returned to light training after the cruciate knee ligament injury that he suffered last April and which ruled him out of England’s World Cup squad. Rodriguez hopes to play again in October. |