Morgan Schneiderlin to Tottenham: Player profile - who is the Southampton midfielder pushing for a move to Spurs?

The 24-year-old Frenchman is believed to have handed in a transfer request to try and force through a move to Spurs

France's midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin attends a press conference (Getty Images)

“Six years of an amazing journey DESTROYED in 1 hour!!!” Those were the words posted by Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin in his Twitter account, apparently left furious that his former team-mates had been sold by the club yet he was denied a move to Tottenham.

Born in Obernai in the east of France, Schneiderlin learnt his trade with his local side RC Starasbourg, before Southampton secured the central midfielder at the tender age of 18. Schneiderlin has gone on to make 231 appearances for the Saints, sticking with them throughout their return through the Football League as he helped the club rise from League One to the dizzying heights of the Premier League with back-to-back promotions.

As he became a regular fixture in the Southampton starting XI – firstly under the guidance of Nigel Adkins and then up until this summer Mauricio Pochettino – from the get-go, Schneiderlin displayed the talents of a youngster that could go on to make a name for himself in the Premier League, yet he stayed with Saints to coincide with their rise through the leagues.

Still only 24 years old, Schneiderlin was a late addition to Didier Deschamps’ World Cup squad after Franck Ribery was ruled out through injury, and he made his debut in the World Cup warm-up victory against 8-0 as he came off the bench for the closing stages of the match. He was handed his first start in the 0-0 draw with Ecuador that took the French through to the second round as Group E winners.

Having returned to Saints for pre-season, Schneiderlin will have already known that Rickie Lambert was heading to Liverpool after the striker agreed a deal to join the Reds, and he watched midfielder team-mate Adam Lallana follow suit shortly after his return from Brazil.

Luke Shaw was also heading to Manchester United, and when Dejan Lovren and Calum Chambers completed permanent moves away from the club, the situation at St Mary’s looked bleak at best. No longer had Chambers completed his move to Arsenal, rumours emerged that Schneiderlin and Jay Rodriguez were the subject of heavy interest from Spurs, and when he was refused an exit to join Pochettino at White Hart Lane he took to social media to vent his frustration.

Doubts have arisen over Sandro’s long-term future at Tottenham, and with Gylfi Sigurdsson heading back to Swansea there is certainly a lack of quality in the Spurs midfield. Pochettino does have the like of Paulinho, Mousa Dembele, Ethienne Capoue and Nabil Bentaleb available, but their lack of consistency last season will certainly be a concern.

Schneiderlin would suit the current Spurs team in that he can fill a box-to-box role, and Pochettino has already shown he can work the Frenchman from their time together at Saints.