Manchester United have accepted a £22m bid from Everton for Morgan Schneiderlin, which could rise to £24m with add-ons.
Ronald Koeman’s opening offer of £19m for the France midfielder was rejected last week, and West Bromwich Albion also saw a similar offer turned down with United keen to recoup the £24m fee they paid Southampton for Schneiderlin in July 2015.
Negotiations have continued in recent days, with Everton now hoping to complete the signing in the next 48 hours after agreeing a fee on Tuesday. United manager José Mourinho confirmed after last night’s EFL victory over Hull that the executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, had informed him Schneiderlin is on his way.
“Before the match Mr Woodward told me ‘almost there’, so I have ‘almost there’,” Mourinho said. “So I’m sad, I’m happy. I’m sad because I like him and he could be an option for us in a long season.
“I’m happy because this is what he wants – he wants to play every game, to be an important player in the team. So if this is what he wants, I am happy for a very good professional, somebody I can only say good things about.”
Koeman, who has also agreed to allow Oumar Niasse to join Hull City on loan until the end of the season, insisted after Everton’s defeat by Leicester City in the FA Cup on Saturday that he is not interested in backup options as he seeks to strengthen his squad with the player he managed at Southampton for one season. Schneiderlin, 27, has played just 11 minutes for United in the Premier League this season having been frozen out by Mourinho.
He could yet be joined at Goodison Park by Memphis Depay, with the Holland winger seen as one of Koeman’s primary targets, although the French side Lyon are also interested. Atalanta have also rejected a £15m bid from Everton for Franck Kessié, with the Italian side determined to hold on to the 20-year-old Ivorian midfielder until the end of the season despite continued interest from Chelsea.