OGC Nice can confirm it has agreed terms with Everton for the transfer of Morgan Schneiderlin from the EPL side to the Ligue 1 outfit.

To boost its midfield ranks, OGC Nice welcomes an experienced player with over 200 Premier League appearances (13 goals, 4 assists) to his name. Thirty-year-old France international Morgan Schneiderlin successfully passed his medical examination. An agreement in principal has been reached with Everton for his transfer and it will be made official once the international summer transfer window opens. Until then, the Toffees have given permission for him to train with the rest of the Nice squad.

“We believe we have a very young and talented squad. But it needs more consistency, more character. Thanks to his experience, Morgan offers us that,” explained Julien Fournier when speaking to French radio station Europe 1. “We made a similar transfer a few years ago in the form of Dante. We have done it again with Morgan, for a very reasonable transfer fee. Contrary to what has been reported, the final fee will be between two and four million euros. We didn’t need to spend crazy money to reinforce the squad.

“Identifying talent is easy. But identifying a quality player that will also bring the competitive mentality that we are looking for, is a lot harder. And it’s the underlying principle of our transfer policy,” added the director of football.

A product of the Strasbourg youth academy (3 L1 appearances in 2007-08) before being transferred to Southampton, the Alsatian midfielder played an integral role in the Saints winning promotion to the Premier League in 2012.

Morgan Schneiderlin quickly imposed himself as one of the best midfielders in England thanks to his vision, his appetite for a tackle and his ability to read the game and diffuse potentially dangerous situations with his positioning. A ball-winner and excellent passer he caught the eye of the France national team coach and made his debut for Les Bleus in 2014. He took part in the World Cup in Brazil and two years later was part of the France squad that reached the final of Euro 2016 on home soil.

Transferred to Manchester United in 2015, with whom he won the FA Cup, he joined Everton in 2017 (88 matches).

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