Morgan Schneiderlin Joins Everton For Initial £20million
Jan 12, 2017 at 11:39 PM
Morgan Schneiderlin ended an underwhelming 18-month spell at Manchester United by sealing a move to English Premier League rival Everton for an initial fee of £20 million on Thursday.
Schneiderlin has signed a four and a half year contract with Everton, where he will be reunited with manager Ronald Koeman. They were together at Southampton for two years, before Schneiderlin left for United in July 2015.
“There is a manager in place here that I know,” the 27-year-old Schneiderlin said. “I know he can get the best out of me, I know his style and how he likes to play football.”
Schneiderlin was told he could leave United after failing to establish himself in the team under Jose Mourinho this season, playing only 11 minutes in the Premier League. He was in and out of the team under Mourinho’s predecessor, Louis van Gaal.
The fee for Schneiderlin could rise to £24 million.
The France international was brought to United by Louis van Gaal in a £24m deal in the summer of 2015 but has failed to win favour since Jose Mourinho took over last summer.
After starting 25 Premier League games and making four substitute appearances during his debut campaign at Old Trafford, Schneiderlin has been limited to three brief substitute appearances in the league this season.
Last month, Mourinho confirmed he would not stand in Schneiderlin’s way if he wished to leave in search of first-team football and United received an offer that matched their valuation of the 27-year-old.
When asked about Schneiderlin, Mourinho had said: “Great professional. Fantastic boy, very honest, very open and he opened his heart a couple of times and my answer is simple: if he’s playing regular with me I have the right to say no way, if he’s not playing regular I have no right to tell a player that if he wants to be happy you’re going nowhere.
“So my answer was if the offer is right and our board thinks the offer is a good offer in relation to a very good player like Morgan I would not stop him to go.”