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Arsenal Could Miss Out On Key £25m Target – Reports

By on April 8, 2015

Arsenal could miss out on key target Morgan Schneiderlin with Chelsea now eyeing a move for the £25m-rated midfielder this summer.

That’s according to the Telegraph, who claim that Jose Mourinho sent his scouts to watch Schneiderlin in action last weekend during their defeat to Everton.

The Blues boss apparently wants a new central midfielder and is now considering the Saints man as an alternative to Paul Pogba – who’s being priced out of a move due to his £74m price tag.

If true, the news will come as a blow to Arsenal as Schneiderlin is widely regarded as a key target for Arsene Wenger and the Telegraph suggest that up until now, we’ve been confident of finally landing the 25-year-old after missing out last summer.

The newspaper says we’re still certain to bid for the Frenchman at the end of the season but will now face competition from Chelsea, who are set to launch a rival bid of their own.

Schneiderlin has already publicly stated that he will leave St Mary’s this summer if they fail to qualify for the Champions League:

“In August, I wanted to take a move but the club had lost too many players to agree to sell me.

“Since then I have had discussions with the leaders and I want to play at the highest level: it is important at 25 years old to finally know the Champions League.

“Given that, late in the season, Southampton may qualify for the Champions League and I can stay, who knows. I have no desire to be in front of my TV on Tuesday and Wednesday.”

Southampton refused to let him leave last summer and will be keen to keep hold of him again this time around, but it’s thought that £25m will be enough to finally persuade them to cash-in.

I’ve said many times that Schneiderlin would be my ideal – and realistic – midfield target this summer and Chelsea were the club I feared would enter the race for his signature.

There’s been speculation around Man Utd and Liverpool being interested but I was confident we’d beat them to the midfielder, but Chelsea may be another story.

They too are a London club and they can offer the big wages, plus they are likely to be the newly-crowned Premier League champions, so we’d have a real fight to lure him to the Emirates if Mourinho does make a formal move.

However, hopefully our French manager and excellent reputation at developing French players over the years will give us an advantage. Fingers crossed we can land him as Schneiderlin would be a great addition to the squad.

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