Man Utd Seal Deal For Arsenal Target As van Gaal Eyes £45m Double Swoop

As the opening of the summer transfer window approaches, managers are working hard identifying targets and lining-up potential deals so we’ll bring you all the news and gossip. Today, Manchester United close in on Morgan Schneiderlin….

Manchester United have sealed a £25m deal to sign long-term Arsenal target Morgan Schneiderlin while Louis van Gaal is also lining-up a £20m move for Ajax goalkeeper Jasper Cillsessen, according to the Mirror.

United achieved their goal of finishing in the top four last season but van Gaal is likely to be busy in the transfer market this summer as he looks to build a squad capable of challenging for top honours again next year.

It appears he’s closing in on his second signing of the window as the Mirror claim that the Red Devils have sealed a deal to sign Morgan Schneiderlin after having a £25m offer accepted by Southampton.

The newspaper suggests that executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward brokered the deal after meeting with the 25-year-old’s agent in Paris on Friday where a £100,000-a-week contract was agreed and the deal will supposedly be confirmed when the transfer window officially opens on Wednesday.

United certainly need to bring in another deep-lying central midfielder as they’ve been overly reliant on Michael Carrick in recent years and they sorely missed the 34-year-old when he was out injured last season, so Schneiderlin would be an excellent addition for the club.

The French international has just come off the back of another impressive campaign at St Mary’s and his form also attracted interest from the likes of Arsenal, but the Daily Mail claim that the Gunners have pulled out of the running for his signature.

Arsene Wenger is also likely to be on the look out for another holding midfielder this summer with Mikel Arteta coming towards the end of his career and the North Londoners have long been linked with Schneiderlin.

However, the Daily Mail suggest that Wenger wasn’t prepared to meet Southampton’s asking price so has now turned his attention to other targets, paving the way for United to wrap-up a move for the Saints star.

And Schneiderlin’s signature could be followed by another big-money new addition as the Mirror claim that van Gaal will now launch a £20m bid for Ajax goalkeeper Jasper Cillsessen.

The paper states that van Gaal has identified the Holland No.1 as a potential replacement for Real Madrid-bound David De Gea and United will now step-up their efforts to sign the 26-year-old.

I’m sure United fans will still be hoping that De Gea can be persuaded to stay at Old Trafford for at least another season as he’s been their best player over the last two years and has developed into one of the very-best keepers in the world.

READ MORE –> Arsenal transfer news | Man Utd transfer news

However, if the Spaniard does head back to his homeland then Cillessen would be an interesting replacement. Obviously van Gaal knows him well from their time together with the Dutch national team so he’s in an excellent position to judge whether he has what it take to fill De Gea’s boots.

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming days but it looks like it could be a busy week at Old Trafford with United looking to secure a £45m double swoop for Schneiderlin and Cillsessen.