Bharath Rammr
Everton boss Ronald Koeman recently expressed his interest in Manchester United outcasts Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay. It is becoming increasingly clear that both these players are heading for the exit. Schneiderlin has found some game time recently, but only as a late substitute, while Depay continues to be overlooked even for this role. The Dutch winger’s only appearance in November was his eight minutes against Feyenoord late on in the game.
Everton appeared to have slowly shifted away from their interest in the Dutch winger. However, they seem to be very keen on getting Schneiderlin. The former Southampton midfielder has immense experience in English football after having been with the south coast outfit since 2008. He will provide an excellent replacement for the ageing Gareth Barry once the England midfielder decides to step down. Signing Schneiderlin will set Everton back by around £15 million, which would represent a massive drop from the £25 million paid by United in the summer of 2015.
United are looking to overcome this loss by taking advantage of the interest from other clubs. Schneiderlin is not the transfer target for Everton alone, as the Telegraph has reported that West Brom appears to have entered into the picture. Their entry has sparked a price war, which now sees Schneiderlin valued at around £20 million.
Schneiderlin has not been utilised by Jose Mourinho since he took over at Old Trafford in the summer. The Frenchman has featured in only two league matches, while he even failed to get any game time in the EFL Cup match against West Ham a few days ago.
Everton did not seem to have Schneiderlin as their only transfer target; as the same source has stated that they are currently pursuing Sevilla midfielder Steven Nzonzi, who knows a thing or two about English football from his time at Blackburn and Stoke City. However, since it is becoming highly unlikely that the club will be able to prise the midfielder away from Sevilla, who have Champions League football, they have switched their attention towards Schneiderlin.
At 27 years of age, he is a perfect player to go straight into the first-team. Since he is also desperate for regular first team football, there is a very good chance that Schneiderlin will not turn down a potential move to Goodison Park. The interest from West Brom, though, significantly complicates the matter. Even though West Brom have been unable to place themselves as a regular Premier League outfit due to recent relegations, they have been steady under Tony Pulis.
Everton, on the other hand, are rich with new investment from an Iraqi billionaire. Even though the club are unlikely to spend big straight away, Schneiderlin can be confident that Everton will be challenging for Europa League places at the very least.
