Lowball bid by Manchester United rejected for Tottenham midfield target

Keep hope alive, Spurs fans. The Telegraph is reporting this morning that Southampton have rejected a £20m bid for Morgan Schneiderlin from Manchester United as the tug-of-war for the Frenchman's services continues.

Schneiderlin is considered one of Mauricio Pochettino's top transfer targets in this window and for good reason: he's really stinkin' good and would be the perfect cog in Poche's midfield. Unfortunately, that's what United thinks also, and Schneiderlin is already on record as saying he'll only leave Soton for a Champions League Club.

Southampton values Schneiderlin at £25m and is pretty adamant about that price being the minimum that they'll take for him. So for United to have a lowball offer rejected could open the door just a tiny crack for Spurs if they are serious about landing him. Spurs have made over £17m from the sales of Paulinho, Lewis Holtby, and Iago Falque already this window, so it's not like Daniel Levy will have to go scrounging through his couch cushions looking for loose change. A big bid for Schneiderlin would not only show that Spurs are serious about landing him, but might – just might – help convince Morgan that he'd do quite well under his old boss at White Hart Lane.

This is all speculation, of course, and the odds of Spurs actually signing him seem to grow weaker with each passing day in the window. But he's perfect for Tottenham, the real missing piece in the midfield pivot. Let's all channel our inner Lloyd Christmas and keep optimistic. It could happen! Keep repeating that to yourselves. No, stop crying.