Schneiderlin closes in on Man Utd move

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It proved to be a hectic Sunday for the Old Trafford club with Bastian Schweinsteiger flying into Manchester for a medical and striker Robin van Persie heading the other way, arriving in Istanbul ahead of his proposed transfer to Fenerbahce.

And late on Sunday night it was reported the 25-year-old Schneiderlin was also having a medical at United’s Carrington training HQ.

Saints boss Ronald Koeman confirmed last week there had been no further bids for the French midfielder since United had an initial approach rejected last month.

Some reports over the weekend suggested United’s interest in Schneiderlin would cool on the back of the impending arrival of World Cup winner Schweinsteiger, but on Saturday afternoon Sky sources reported the Southampton player remained firmly on manager Louis van Gaal’s radar.

Schneiderlin now looks set to link up with the German midfielder on United’s pre-season tour of the United States. Van Gaal and his squad fly to Seattle on Monday afternoon.

Koeman recently played down reports that Schneiderlin had already agreed an exit strategy, saying the midfielder missed pre-season training because of illness after consulting a doctor and would make the trip to Austria.

After Southampton’s 5-4 defeat by Red Bull Leipzig, Schneiderlin was not in the team against Valencia in their second tournament match on Saturday afternoon.

Last summer, Schneiderlin was at the top of Tottenham’s wanted list with the player missing the start of pre-season after telling Saints he was “not mentally or physically ready” to play after a bid was turned down.

Schneiderlin, though, got his head down and played in 30 games for the St Mary’s club and helped steer them to seventh spot in the Premier League.

It has been quite a journey for Schneiderlin who was playing in the English third tier with Saints only five years ago and was also in France’s World Cup squad last year.

He arrived on the south coast in 2008, signing for £1.2m from Strasbourg.