Man Utd Enter Race For French International, Arsenal Willing To Pay £27m

With the January transfer now open for business, managers are working hard to strengthen their squads ahead of the second half of the season, so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip. Today, Arsenal face competition from Man Utd for Morgan Schneiderlin….

Manchester United are ready to battle it out with Arsenal over the signature of Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, according to reports today.

Schneiderlin was strongly linked with a move away from St Mary’s in the summer with Arsenal understood to have put together a lucrative contract offer to try and lure the midfielder to the Emirates.

However, a move failed to materialise and Schneiderlin was forced to vent his frustration on Twitter after Southampton refused to let him join the likes of Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert, Dejan Lovren, Calum Chambers and Luke Shaw in leaving the club in the summer.

Despite that disappointment, Schneiderlin has continued his excellent form this season and with the January transfer now open for business, it seems the French international is once again in demand.

The Mirror claim that Arsenal are ready to renew their interest are willing to test Southampton’s resolve with a £27m offer as Arsene Wenger looks to strengthen his midfield options with Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta all missing large parts of the season through injury.

However, the newspaper suggests the North Londoners will now face fresh competition from Manchester United as Louis van Gaal has supposedly identified Schneiderlin as a potential long-term replacement for Michael Carrick.

The former Tottenham ace has been exceptional for United since returning from injury but at 34, he’s coming towards the end of his career and it appears van Gaal is already planning ahead with Schneiderlin on his radar.

Southampton are enjoying a fine season and currently sit in the top four at the half-way point, so they are likely to do all they can to hang on to their best players in January as they push to qualify for Europe next season.

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

But the South Coast club may be forced into cashing in on Schneiderlin if the likes of Arsenal and United come calling with bids in the region of £27m. That kind of money may prove to be too good to turn down so it would be down to the player to decide whether he wants to go if the clubs can agree a fee.