Mourinho blocked Spurs move for Man Utd midfielder

Spurs were keen to sign Man United midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin on deadline day, but it's thought their hopes were dashed by Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho was not prepared to let Schneiderlin leave the club during the summer, even though he is unlikely to play a huge part for United in the Premier League this season.

While Schneiderlin is by no means a first choice for United, Mourinho would not consider allowing him to leave because he is expected to feature prominently in the club's Europa League campaign.

Mourinho also had reservations about letting him join one of the clubs likely to challenge United for the Premier League title, particularly since Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino worked with Schneiderlin at Southampton, and knows how to get the best out of him.

Last summer, Mourinho made a point of stating it was not his decision to sell Petr Cech to Arsenal while he was still the manager of Chelsea, whose owner Roman Abramovich sanctioned the deal.

Spurs responded by pulling off one of the most eye-catching late transfers on deadline day, beating Everton to the signing Schneiderlin's international team-mate, Moussa Sissoko, in a £30m deal.