Saints are being rumoured to be ready to offer Morgan Schneiderlin a massive pay deal to stay at St Mary's but is now the time right to move him on ?

Before the shenanigans of last summer I said that if Saint had to lose one player for big money then the one that we could afford to lose is Morgan Schneiderlin.

Of course Morgan is a great player and no club likes to lose players of that calibre but the reality is that if we are going to build a dynasty that lasts then in the short term it is going to be about selling players at their height and for big fees and getting in their replacements cheaper and then repeating the process until as the squad gets stronger players want to stay even when the big clubs come calling.

Morgan Schneiderlin famously wanted to go last summer and I do not blame him for that, to his credit he took the reality of the situation well and agreed to knuckle own and stay, but having done that he and the club know that he deserves a big deal.

Now it seems Saints are willing to offer him that deal and figures of £60-70k a week are being bandied sound, Morgan will be happy it increases his bargaining power and the worse that can happen is he is here next yard on a big salary.

From the clubs perspective they have to be seen to be doing the right thing and that is try to hang on to the player, but the question Is do they truly want to.

Saints are a progressive club and they subscribe to the theory of soccernomics, that says that when you know what a player Is worth to you in terms of goals assists etc and when that value is exceeded you cash in and buy someone who can do the same job and repeat the process becoming stronger along the way.

Saints know they have a plethora of central midfielders and that aside the established players like Wanyama and Steven Davis maybe two of the youngster Ward Prowse and Reed will step up to the plate, so if Schneiderlin is sold for say £25 million and someone like Jordie Clasie is bought for £15 million with a spare £10 million to strengthen the squad further then that is progression not regression.

Of course in an ideal worlds Saints would keep Schneiderlin and indeed all their top stars and invest £90 million each summer in improving the squad, the reality is that isn't going to happen so we have to keep selling the odd player and investing wisely.

So I expect Morgan to go in the summer and I will wish him all the best, there are few players nowadays that I've a club 7 years service as a first team player, he has been loyal and has earned his right to be called a Saints legend, if we him a favour in pushing up his salary by offering him a new contract, not to mention a few extra quid on the transfer fee, then it will be a job well done.

Photo: Action Images

saintsnutcase added 01:33 - Mar 7 What about Harry Reed? He deserves a chance to replace Schneiderlin.
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WestSussexSaint added 07:28 - Mar 7 Using the "soccernomics" theory clearly Saints think Morgan is worth investing in but I'm sure if a silly offer of £25m+ was made the club will know his worth and not hesitate to sell. I think this is more about positioning the club to avoid a mass exodus like last season by saying we will compete financially if we think a player is worth it. Of course that doesn't stop a player wanting to leave for footballing reasons i.e. CL football which is why I think our final league position will have more of an influence on whether certain players stay or go.

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bigrob68 added 07:38 - Mar 7 i don't think CL football is the main drive for players anymore, it's all about the money these days.
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Chesham_Saint added 10:57 - Mar 7 In my view he's a world class player. Try buying a player of similar status and paying 60-70k..... you'd be lucky to find one I suspect. Plus we already know he fits in and does an excellent job which in itself is deserving of a premium. We've had our recent share of expensive flops after all.
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Hugh_Jarce added 12:04 - Mar 7 Nick - without wishing to blow smoke I totally agree. MS has honoured his side of things, knuckled down and performed well again this season. He's earnt his chance to move up to the next level and a big payday. I suspect it may not be in the PL though. And Harry Reed (and there may be others) can step up
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Zambucco added 12:52 - Mar 7 I do wish to blow smoke Nick, an excellent view point. The benefit of keeping him is, he is already established and with him around it helps new players to gel. He knows our style and plays it perfectly. So increasing his pay is in a way saving money, buying a new and unknown player. Saying that accepting an offer that exceeds his worth is good business. Something we showed we are adept at this last summer. I think his fee will exceed all from last year, and top £30m should he go. You have earmarked a spectacular replacement in Jordie Clasie, well worth the £15m you quoted, but possibly as low as £11m. I think he will fit in alongside Big Vic and Steve Davis as a perfect compliment. He will also be very good for Prowse Reed and co. Who are only slightly younger then him, but will be inspired, because of his skill, and strength, all in a compact frame. Actually I'm salivating so much, I hope we do sell Morgan! (not really) COYR!

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SanMarco added 13:28 - Mar 7 I think he is goung whatever happens - so all this is about maximising the fee. I see Spurs are after Toby.
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ChristchurchSaint added 13:56 - Mar 7 Tend to agree- if we are offered £25-30 mill, then we should snap the hand off of the chairman who is offering it. Morgan has, as others say, been a great servant to the club. But looking at at from a practical point of view, even if we offer him £70k a week, he knows that big clubs (sorry, I would love to include us here, but financially we are not yet!) will offer him £100K+. He has settled down after throwing his toys out last summer, but sometimes, he does not appear to to be giving 100%. I don't know whether this is because he does have his mind on greater things.

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halftimeorange added 17:22 - Mar 7 Buy someone cheaper who can do the same job? Would you rather have Lallana or Tadic, Lambert or Pelle? I fear that our cheaper replacements are being found out. Ours is a hard league. You need hard players and Schneiderlin is amongst the hardest.
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1970 added 22:50 - Mar 7 MS has already sorted his move,like the earlier post says he's going regardless of where we finish as is Clyne but you can be guarantee Saints will get top dollar for these two and you never know the grass may not be greener some decent replacements should on there way and get a pre season under there belt we could have an even better squad,the difference being no one else will want to leave or be tapped up coyr.

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corkcitysaint added 10:36 - Mar 8 I think it was right of the club to offer Morgan a "mega bucks" deal as far as Saints are concerned. This is still small change compared to what other clubs can offer. I also think it is more of a gesture by the club to be seen as being proactive and to try to keep our players. Deep down though, I believe the club and Morgan know he that he will not be a Saints player next season. If he does go, I would not hold any malice towards him and would wish him the best (more so if he were to go abroad..) I think he recovered well from the unpleasantness of his tweet and he does appear to be hungry for honours which Saints can't realistically offer. I believe that we will lose Morgan, Toby and Clyne and possibly J-Rod. I would just hope that we can get good money for these players to strengthen the squad and take the next step or 2 up the ladder.

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simmo400 added 11:39 - Mar 8 25 million sell him off. No player should hold the club to ransome. We have the players to replace him.
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SaintDownUnder added 20:13 - Mar 8 Morgan is a world class centre midfielder who typically leads the league in tackles made. His distribution is good and his positioning even better, plus hie's added a few goals to his game this season. Physically at 25 he's coming into his prime too. Name another player in the EPL that has these attributes that you can buy for $25mil? Make no mistake, from a quality standpoint, we will be going backwards if Morgan leaves the club.

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