Speaking at a press conference ahead of his club’s friendly against Bayer Leverkusen tomorrow, Southampton manager Ronald Koeman informed the media that the club and its prized-midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin are embroiled in a stand off.

The Saints new boss went so far as to say that the player was making his situation with the Premier League club “difficult”.

Koeman said:

“The situation is difficult because the player makes it difficult.

“I spoke to him with our chairman and the situation has not changed – we won’t sell Schneiderlin and he has to accept that.

“Tomorrow he is not in the squad. He said he is not physically and, even more importantly, mentally prepared for the game.

“On one side I can understand that. We told him to take the weekend off and think about the situation.

“But he will continue as a football player of Southampton. Now it is up to him.”

It appears the player is still unsettled from the events that took place less than two weeks ago.

In late July, Schneiderlin was told that he would not be allowed to reunite with his former manager Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham, despite intense interest from the player and Spurs.

Schneiderlin then held talks with Southampton officials regarding a potential move away from St. Mary’s, but was informed that he would not be sold “on any terms”.

After selling off five players since the opening of the transfer window, Saints new boss Koeman told talkSPORT that the club would spend “every penny” it made in transfers to reinvest in the squad. The manager also stated that those who remained at the club “wanted” to be there.

Koeman told talkSPORT: “We need to have a dressing room filled with players who want to be at Southampton, who understand the way we’re moving forward, how we’re building towards European football and how we can get there in a healthy way.

“We went into this transfer window without any players for sale, but situations have evolved since then and some wanted shortcuts to the Champions League.”

That news was perplexing to those who have been following the exodus of players from Southampton over the past several weeks, and it triggered a reaction from Schneiderlin.

The 24-year-old took to his Twitter account to voice his dissatisfaction with the decision:

Fast forward to today, Koeman has clearly stated that Schneiderlin is still having issues with the club’s decision.

Saints have stated that they will not be selling the midfielder, but the manager has also gone on record as saying Southampton wants players who want to be at the club.

It will be interesting to see how the club handles this situation before the end of the transfer window.

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