The rivalry between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur is spilling over into the January transfer window. The Independent are reporting that both North London clubs are interested in signing Southampton’s central midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, whom the South Coast club rate to be worth £25 million.
While both clubs would be keen for a January move, Arsenal expect a summer deal to be easier to achieve, and have reportedly made him one of their No. 1 priorities for the summer window. Arsene Wenger still wants cover at the defensive midfield position in January, however, but could look to someone more versatile like Loic Perrin while he waits for the Southampton man to become available.
It looks as if the French midfielder will have a decision to make in the summer. Arsenal’s North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur are very keen on signing the midfielder and are quietly confident of landing him. Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino worked with the player at Southampton and was seen as the driving force behind a large chunk of the player’s development.
Having said that, Arsene Wenger will know Schneiderlin well, with the two being French and the age-old rumour being that Wenger actually recommended Southampton to buy Schneiderlin a few years back.
Whether that is true or not, there is little doubt that the manager will have been impressed with the form of the powerful midfielder. Despite the departures of Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert, Southampton have still impressed and a large part of the reason is the continued improvement and development of Morgan Schneiderlin. He’s one of the league’s best midfielders. Arsenal and Tottenham will not be the only team after him.
Both clubs would love to get their hands on him, but this could be one that has to wait until the summer. Although, every player has their price and if one of North London’s teams can stump up the kind of cash to tempt Southampton, they just might land themselves one of the most coveted assets in the Premier League.
