Schneiderlin to wear ‘2’ jersey at Everton

Everton new signing Morgan Schneiderlin will wear the ‘#2’ jersey for the Toffees. The midfielder today completed his much-talked about move from Manchester United for £20m, with the sum going up to £24m with add-ons.

The Frenchman first came to England as an 18-year-old when Southampton picked him up from Racing Strasbourg in Ligue 1 at the beginning of the 2008 season. He played for the Saints 257 times over seven years, scoring 15 goals with 11 assists.

During his time there, he worked with the Blues current manager Ronald Koeman, who was there for two years. The Dutchman’s affinity for his central defensive midfielders likely played a big determining factor in choosing to move to Goodison Park.

He then moved to Manchester United under Louis van Gaal during the 2015 summer window, where he made a further fifty appearances with one goal and two assists. He has found it tough going at the Red Devils under new manager Jose Mourinho, paving the way for his exit.

At Everton he will join a midfield corps comprising ageing veteran Gareth Barry, tough-tackling Idrissa Gueye, and sparkling youngster Tom Davies. James McCarthy, Tom Cleverley, Muhamed Besic and Darron Gibson are also still in the squad, but unlikely to provide more than emergency depth.

The ‘#2’ jersey has been formerly worn by fan-favourites Tony Hibbert and Steve Watson over the years in Everton history.