Everton completed a high-profile signing in the January transfer window, but the move did not live up to expectations
Morgan Schneiderlin of Everton
Everton previously completed a record signing during the January transfer window(Image: James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images)
View 3 Images
Everton made Morgan Schneiderlin their most expensive January signing in 2017, but his time at the club was tinged with regret. He had emerged as one of the Premier League’s leading defensive midfielders at Southampton and still carried much of that reputation when joining Ronald Koeman’s ambitious squad in a deal rising to £24million.
Schneiderlin’s performances at Southampton had previously caught Manchester United’s attention. The midfielder was snapped up by Louis van Gaal in 2015, making 39 appearances across his debut season, which culminated in the club winning the FA Cup.
His impact at United came to a halt under new boss Jose Mourinho, who used the midfielder only 8 times before allowing him to leave in January. Everton had been tracking his situation and completed a high-profile transfer, which reunited him with former Saints boss Koeman, but Schneiderlin later deemed the move a mistake.
Author avatar
Author avatar
"I learned a lot from my departure from Manchester United," Schneiderlin told L'Equipe in 2022. "I had played 40 matches the previous season with Manchester. When I come back from the Euros, I take ten days off and I play very little for three, four months.
FOLLOW OUR EVERTON FC FACEBOOK PAGE!Latest EFC news and analysis from via the Liverpool Echo’s dedicated FB page
"Then, I have Ronald Koeman and Everton who are pushing hard to get me, every day, from October. I will remember it all my life: I should have played against Liverpool, starter, and the coach (Mourinho) comes to see me.
"He tells me he doesn't feel me inside the group. I tell him that indeed, with what has happened in the last three months, I am not in it and I want to go to Everton. I regretted it very quickly.
Morgan Schneiderlin and Louis van Gaal
Morgan Schneiderlin was impacted by his time at Manchester United(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
View 3 Images
"Even if it went very well at Everton, when you play for Manchester United, when you're at a club like that, it's not for a moment of doubt that you have to question everything. Look at Ander Herrera: the first year I arrived, he was on the bench; he persevered, and today he is at PSG."
The France international spent three-and-a-half years at Everton, making 88 appearances, but struggled to rediscover the consistently top form he had shown at Southampton. The Blues sold Schneiderlin to Nice in 2020 and it was during his three-year spell in France that the midfielder opened up about how his time at United had impacted him.
Morgan Schneiderlin of Everton
Schneiderlin struggled for consistency at Everton(Image: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Image)
View 3 Images
"I was too affected by what Louis van Gaal was asking from me," he told the Daily Mail in 2023. "I lost me as a player. It was not me on the field.
“It was not just the manager's fault; it was my fault, too. My role was not the one I had at Southampton. I felt restricted in my game. I felt they wanted to change things in me.
"I was not thinking as me, I was thinking about what pleased the coach. When you reach that point, every pass you make, everything you do, you don't play free. Something stopped me from being who I was. I wanted so much to do well, and it is one of the most frustrating things ever."