Arsenal & Manchester United told to pay £24m to sign Premier League star

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EPL giants given £24m asking price for top target.

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Arsenal rumours

Arsenal and Manchester United have reportedly been told it will cost them £24m to sign Morgan Schneiderlin from Southampton in this summer’s transfer window, according to the Daily Mirror.

The French international, who stood out as one of the finest defensive midfielders in the Premier League and perhaps Europe in 2014/15, is seemingly a priority target for both clubs ahead of next season, which makes sense given their respective needs in that position.

Arsenal ended up overly reliant on untested youngster Francis Coquelin for much of the campaign, and though the Frenchman did well for the team upon returning from a loan spell at Charlton Athletic, it may be that Arsene Wenger would like a more proven player in that role, or at least a partner for Coquelin who could be an improvement on the likes of Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere. Despite being regulars in the first-team for the last few years, neither were particularly impressive in the season just past, not to mention incredibly injury-prone and out of the side for significant parts of the year.

United, meanwhile, may feel Schneiderlin would be a good long-term replacement for the 33-year-old Michael Carrick, who is another player to have struggled with injuries in recent times, meaning he only played 18 Premier League games in Louis van Gaal’s first season at Old Trafford, though he did perform well when he did make it into the team.

£24m seems a reasonable price for Schneiderlin if the Mirror’s estimation is correct, though they add that European heavyweights such as Juventus and Atletico Madrid have also joined Arsenal and United in showing a strong interest in the 25-year-old this summer, so it may be that he will not end up staying in England.

This would surely be a big preference for the Saints, who lost so many of their best players to rival clubs last summer as the likes of Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Dejan Lovren all moved on. Schneiderlin’s exit would be another disappointment, of course, but an easier one to swallow if he weren’t then able to play against them regularly in the English top flight.

 

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