Manchester United have turned down a £19 million offer for Morgan Schneiderlin from fellow Premier League side Everton, according to the Telegraph.
The France international midfielder has struggled for game time under Jose Mourinho this season but after signing for the Red Devils for £24 million from Southampton in July 2015, the club want to recoup as much of that fee as possible.
United hold out for bigger fee
A move to Goodison Park would allow Schneiderlin to reunite with former Saints boss Ronald Koeman but United want more than what the Merseyside outfit have offered so far. According to the Manchester Evening News, the Old Trafford club want more than £20 million for the midfielder.
The Toffees could yet face further competition for the midfielder’s signature, however, after West Bromwich Albion had a £18 million bid rejected for Schneiderlin last month. Inter Milan and Marseille have also been linked with the 27-year-old over the last month.
Speaking before the Boxing Day win against Sunderland, Mourinho confirmed that the player would be allowed to leave the club this month – but only for the right conditions.
Koeman targeting another United ace
Schneiderlin was one of four summer signings made by ex-boss Louis van Gaal in 2015, and it appears that the Frenchman won’t be alone from that quartet if he does eventually depart.
Bastian Schweinsteiger and Matteo Darmian joined within days of Schneiderlin’s arrival, with both of those players’ futures remaining uncertain.
However, it is Memphis Depay – who arrived before all three of that aforementioned trio – who looks set to join Schneiderlin at Everton. The Dutchman could join compatriot Koeman on a loan deal until the end of the season.
Depay can’t have many complaints about what looks like an inevitable departure from the club, but the same can’t be said for his French counterpart.
A torrid time for Schneiderlin
Schneiderlin has been bizarrely treated at times while at Old Trafford, with Van Gaal often dropping the midfielder from his team last season even though United boasted a much better record with him in the side in the months after he joined.
The former Southampton man may also feel he has been too often overlooked under Mourinho this season, with Marouane Fellaini seemingly above him in the midfield pecking order.
But after letting players such as Nani and Javier Hernandez go for cut-price fees in the last couple of seasons, it is at least pleasing to see the club finally holding out for prices truer to a player’s valuation before they leave the club.