The likes of North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham were among a whole host of clubs lining up to make bids for the Southampton midfielder, who said that he wanted to leave the side in the summer. He put in a transfer request, but new manager Ronald Koeman did well to keep hold of one of his key players, who has been flourishing so far this 2014-15 campaign.
Having said that, he has reiterated his desire to play for "a big club", which could be resolved if Southampton manage to qualify for the UEFA Champions League this year, the competition that is seen as the tournament for Europe's elite teams. With that being said, with their current form being taken into account, it would be a very hard task to expect The Saints to secure a top four spot, which has been fluctating every year for the past 15.
Schneiderlin himself had this to say: "If someone had told me at the end of the transfer window that Southampton would be second, I would not have believed it, even though we lost a lot of people; the club has recruited well and a new coach arrived with a new philosophy. A career passes quickly and I want to play for a big club - today I am at Southampton, we are second in the Premier League, it's going well. We'll see at the end of the season if (a transfer) will happen, if we have qualified for the Champions League, I will make the choice."
The Saints have had to cope with the loss of many important players over the past 12 months, including Lallana, Lambert and Lovren (all to Liverpool), Chambers (Arsenal) and Shaw (Manchester United). They were heavily tipped for a relegation fight, but Koeman's philosophy of football has heavily influenced the team in a positive way.