Everton agree £24m deal for Man United outcast Schneiderlin

Manchester United have agreed a £24million fee to sell midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin to Everton.

The 27-year-old moved to Old Trafford from Southampton in a deal worth around £25million in July 2015 but has struggled to make an impact since manager Jose Mourinho’s arrival last summer.

Schneiderlin now looks set join former Saints boss Ronald Koeman at Goodison Park, with realistic add-ons understood to have been built in that could take the transfer figure to £24million.

The move is set to bring an end to a difficult spell in Manchester for the France international, who has struggled for game time since Mourinho’s appointment.

He is yet to start a match in the league this season, having been named in the first XI 25 times by Louis van Gaal last campaign, and has made just eight appearances in all with Mourinho admitting last week that he no longer considered the midfielder for selection.

Commenting on the futures of Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay, who has also been linked with a move to Goodison, the Portuguese manager said: “Their situation is exactly the same, both of them I will allow to leave the club.

“I will allow them to leave if the right offer comes. Until this moment, no. Is this a good situation? No. Why not? Because I don’t think about them as options in this moment.”

Morgan Schneiderlin asks to leave Manchester United - Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Morgan Schneiderlin has asked to leave Manchester United, with West Bromwich Albion leading the race to sign the midfielder after lodging a £13 million bid.

Schneiderlin, a £24m signing from Southampton in July 2015, has failed to start a Premier League game for United this season and has not appeared at all since making a substitute appearance against Arsenal at Old Trafford on Nov. 19.

Everton manager Ronald Koeman is also keen to sign Schneiderlin, having worked with the Frenchman at Southampton.

But with the transfer window due to open on Jan. 1, United manager Mourinho has said that he is willing to sell the player following talks between the pair.

"He is a great professional, a fantastic boy, very honest and open," Mourinho said. "He opened his heart to me a couple of times and my answer is simple.

"If he was playing regularly with me, I have the right to say no way. But if he is not playing, I have no right to say you are going nowhere.

"My answer was that, if the offer is right and the board thinks it's a good offer in relation to quality of a very good player like Morgan, I wouldn't stop him going."

Schneiderlin is not expected to figure in the matchday squad for Monday's home game against Southampton, with Memphis Depay, another Everton target, also likely to miss out.

Meanwhile, West Brom manager Tony Pulis confirmed the club had made bids for several players but declined to discuss names.

"We have made bids for four or five players, we won't talk about them today. We will talk about them if we get them." he said.

"I don't want to go into it specifically, doing deals and business with people you should deal directly with them. Once they are done you can talk about them more openly. That's the way I prefer to conduct my business.

"We'll be spending a bit of money left over from the previous window, then moving on from there. They are very keen to keep the club running financially positively. They feel they can if they manage it properly."