According to ESPN FC, Arsenal have reached out to Southampton to "register interest" in signing French holding midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin. Schneiderlin -- or "The Big Schneid," as I like to call him starting right now -- wanted to leave last summer but was not allowed to go, after Southampton sold pretty much every other good player they had. As you might recall, everyone thought they'd probably get relegated, but instead they turned out to be basically just as good this year as they were last year. It was weird.
But now Southampton appear to be ready to talk.
The France international had made public his frustration that he was denied the chance to move on, but ESPN FC has been told that Saints officials have reassured him that he will be allowed to leave at the right price this summer.
Although there's interest from Tottenham Hotspur and The Big Schneid's former manager Mauricio Pochettino, the player wants to play in the Champions League, and there's pretty much no chance of that ever happening if he goes to Tottenham. Soton's manager Ronald Koeman admits that he doesn't have a ton of control:
I don't know, or about interest or about bids. We like to keep everybody but we know sometimes it's difficult. There aren't any serious bids for the player. He is happy, but it's up to the player.
Like he mentions, Arsenal have not yet bid. But this is probably a thing that's going to drag on much of the summer, unless someone blows every other bid out of the water. This is Arsenal, so that is not super likely. Strap in, lads!