Arsenal Remain Keen As Man Utd See £20m Midfielder Bid Rejected

With the summer transfer window finally open for business, managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads ahead of next season so we’ll bring you all the news and gossip. Today, Man Utd have a bid rejected for Morgan Schneiderlin….

Manchester United have seen an opening £20m bid for Arsenal target Morgan Schneiderlin rejected by Southampton with the South Coast club holding out for nearer £25m, according to the Telegraph.

Schneiderlin has been one of the most sought-after players of the summer window so far after enjoying another fine season at St Mary’s last year, with his impressive displays in the middle of the park helping Ronald Koeman’s side to a seventh-placed finish.

The French international is expected to finally secure a big-money move this summer and despite interest being shown from abroad, Schneiderlin was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail last month that he’s keen to remain in England and join a top four club.

Arsenal emerged as the early front-runners for his signature with the Independent reporting towards the end of June that bookmakers were forced to cut their odds on the 25-year-old moving to the Emirates to just 1/2.

Arsene Wenger then appeared to cool his interest which led to intense speculation suggesting Schneiderlin was heading for Old Trafford and the Mirror claimed last week that United officials had agreed personal terms with the midfielder following talks with his agent in Paris.

However, a fee still needs to be agreed with Southampton and the Telegraph are reporting that United saw their opening £20m offer rejected last week with the Saints demanding a fee closer to £25m.

United are yet to table an improved offer and the newspaper suggests that Arsenal remain interested and are watching developments closely – although Arsene Wenger is showing no sign he wants to enter a bidding war for the player.

Louis van Gaal certainly needs a new central midfielder to help ease the load on Michael Carrick as United are currently overly-reliant on the 34-year-old and sorely missed him when he was injured last season.

However, Arsenal could also do with another holding midfielder to compete with Francis Coquelin and I think Schneiderlin has the perfect game to suit the Gunners style of play, but it remains to be seen whether Wenger is willing to pay what’s required to land him.

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I have a feeling the Arsenal boss is sitting back waiting to see what happens with United and if van Gaal turns his attention elsewhere, we may see the North Londoners renew their interest and hope the lack of serious competition would bring the price down.

It’s a finely poised situation and one that would ideally be resolved sooner rather than later as Schneiderlin has been forced to report back for pre-season training and I’m sure he’d like his future sorted out before the season begins next month.