Manchester United’s Luke Shaw has been tipped to return to Southampton in January – but what about out-of-form Everton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin?
The colossal, omnipotent Morgan Schneiderlin that dominated Premier League midfields with Southampton has barely been seen since he quit the South Coast in the summer of 2015.
The Frenchman struggled to make an impression during 18 months at Manchester United – and his first year as an Everton player has not gone a whole lot better.
According to The Guardian, Schneiderlin cost The Toffees £24 million in the January transfer window but you could put a decimal point in the middle of that figure to gauge a more accurate representation of the 27-year-old’s performances this season.
Looking sluggish and erratic in central midfield, Schneiderlin was left out of the Everton squad completely for last Sunday’s victory against Watford after picking up two naïve yellow cards in the 3-0 Europa League defeat to Lyon three days before.
Schneiderlin could be forgiven if he is regretting wondering just how green the grass was away from St Mary’s. A shadow of his former self, the midfielder was at his best during that seven year stay with Southampton and he might even have been in contention for a place in France’s 2018 World Cup squad had he stayed.
Though with The Mirror reporting that Southampton are interested in taking left-back Luke Shaw back to St Mary’s on loan from Manchester United in January, they should also give some thought to enquiring about Schneiderlin’s availability at Everton.
On paper, Schneiderlin would form a fearsome midfield partnership with Oriol Romeu or Mario Lemina – potentially with the licence to once again act more as a distributor rather than just a destroyer.
With The Saints struggling to live up to their past glories, what better way to revive their fortunes than to bring back two of their former fan favourites?
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