Morgan Schneiderlin was one of Mauricio Pochettino's primary targets over this past summer. The Argentinian coach wanted to bring the French international midfielder along with him, having departed Southampton - the club Schneiderlin still plays for - just a couple of months prior. Sadly for Spurs, they didn't move fast enough and, in a summer when Southampton were clearly in a selling mood (they sold Luke Shaw, Dejan Lovren, Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Calum Chambers), the Saints obviously thought that enough was enough when it came to selling a sixth first team star and Spurs missed out - admittedly much to the dismay of Schneiderlin himself at the time. Spurs had to resort to their second choice - fellow Frenchman Benjamin Stambouli - and while he doesn't look a bad player, he is yet to really break in to the first team, while Schneiderlin has knuckled down and is performing brilliantly as Southampton sit in an unprecedented second place in the Premier League table. A definitive best first choice pairing in Spurs' defensive midfield has yet to be found. Schneiderlin would undoubtedly have made one of those slots his own.
