Morgan Schneiderlin may have wanted to follow the exodus of players out of the door at Southampton this season, but now that the transfer window has closed the Frenchman has insisted he is once again solely focused on life at St. Mary’s.
Luke Shaw, Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren were amongst those who left Southampton during the summer transfer window, as manager Mauricio Pochettino also departed the club to take the helm at fellow Premier League side, Tottenham Hotspur. A stellar season followed by a call-up to France’s 2014 World Cup squad caught the attention of Pochettino and the 24-year-old midfielder was heavily touted with a move to re-join his former boss at White Hart Lane for much of the summer.
The Saints, however, had other ideas and instilled the notion that no other key figures would be sold from the club once the appointment of Ronald Koeman as manager of the club was confirmed, allowing the Dutchman to instead rebuild rather than make his work harder upon arrival.
Schneiderlin often voiced his frustration at being stuck at St. Mary’s when offers were pouring in for his services – even taking to twitter to lash out at the decision-makers within the club when it was revealed he would not be allowed to leave in the summer– but after a strong start to the season, in which the midfielder has scored two goals in three appearances, he appears happy to maintain his improvement in the heart of Southampton – for now at least.
Schneiderlin told L’Equipe: “My objective at the end of last season was to play in the Champions League this term.
“Those are the matches that help you to improve. But playing in the Premier League also allows you to play against Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, and they are big matches also.
“I can’t get annoyed with it. I have to achieve the best possible season at Southampton and keep performing at the same level.
“In my body, I feel better as a footballer. I feel I will go on improving.” The midfielder added.
Although the season has started superbly for Schneiderlin, the same cannot be said about Southampton, who have endured an indifferent opening three games. The Saints lost to Liverpool on the opening day, before drawing 0-0 with West Brom and defeating West Ham 3-1 prior to the International break. The Saints return to action against Newcastle United at the weekend and are good value to build on their 3-1 victory over the Hammers. Major sportsbook and casino sites value Southampton at around 5/6 to earn victory at St. Mary’s, while the visiting Newcastle are considered the underdogs around 16/5.
The inconsistent start to the season may have curbed ambition at St. Mary’s to qualify for Europe – despite Shneiderlin’s well documented desires to feature in that sort of competition - and they are now considered major outsiders to end the season in the qualification places. In this event, it is likely that we are yet to see the last of the Schneiderlin transfer saga, even if the Frenchman is content for the meantime.