By Mark Finlay
In what they Daily Telegraph calls and exclusive, Matt Law writes that Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is keen to sign the Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin in January, but is worried that Arsenal will outbid him.
Pochettino has been keen to link up with his former players Schneiderlin and forward Jay Rodriguez since leaving St Marys in May to take over as the boss at White Hart Lane.
An offer of £10 million was made for Schneiderlin during the summer transfer window, but was immediately turned down with the news that the Frenchman was not for sale.
The player himself however is thought to be eager to leave Southampton, and with Tottenham’s Algerian midfielder Nabil Bentaleb set to miss a month due to the African Cup of Nations, Spurs see Schneiderlin as the ideal replacement.
The main worry at White Hart Lane though is Arsenal, with Schneiderlin perhaps being the perfect holding midfielder that the Gunners have been looking for.
Relations between Tottenham and Southampton are not the best either after manager Pochettino left in the summer taking Paul Mitchell with him as head of recruitment and analysis, while Arsenal remains on good terms with the south coast team completing several deals with each other over the years including Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain along with £16 million summer signing Calum Chambers.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger’s main concern this January is to bring in a central defender, but with the club also needing a holding midfielder Tottenham is worried that they may take the opportunity to sign the 25-year-old Schneiderlin if he is available.
