Manchester United may have accidentally helped Tottenham

Manchester United have helped Tottenham in the transfer market

Manchester United are desperate to catch Tottenham in the Premier League standings, but they may have done Spurs a massive favor in the transfer market. By accepting Everton’s bid for Morgan Schneiderlin, the Red Devils may have opened the door for Tottenham to purchase Ross Barkley.

At first glance, the two things don’t seem all that related. In my estimation, United and Everton both benefit from the Schneiderlin sale. He clearly wasn’t a part of Jose Mourinho’s plans, and Ronald Koeman can certainly use him. The fact that United were able to recoup a significant portion of their original transfer fee for the French midfielder makes the deal a win for them as well.

When you look at things a bit deeper, you can see the deal might have significant ramifications for Everton. £22 million pounds isn’t a lot of money for United, but it’s a meaningful sum for the Toffees. Combine the cash spent on Schneiderlin with the £10.5 million spent on Ishak Belfodil and you already have a very expensive January at Everton.

It’s likely that Koeman has been told he needs to sell off some players to help offset those costs. That really gives the Everton manager two options. He can either attempt to offload several fringe players or he can elect to part with one big name. If he opts for the latter, selling Ross Barkley would be the obvious solution.

If the talented English international is really made available, look for Tottenham to move quickly to acquire him. He doesn’t necessarily fill a need for the North London club, but his talent will be too tempting for Mauricio Pochettino to pass on. Adding him to his young attacking cadre of players like Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane could position Tottenham for a prolonged run of Premier League title contention.