Manchester United ready second bid to bring Southampton's Morgan Schneiderlin to Old Trafford

Manchester United are reportedly set to make a second bid for Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, after their initial £20m ($31.1m) bid was rejected by the south coast club.

According to the Guardian, Louis van Gaal is keen to complete the deal before the Red Devils depart for their pre-season tour to the United States on 13 July.

The Dutchman wants to strengthen his team before the pre-season as he looks to have a settled lineup ahead of the start of the Premier League season on 8 August. United also have a final Champions League qualification knockout game before the start of the domestic campaign.

The former Bayern Munich manager has made signing a deep lying midfielder a priority this summer, as he seeks a long-term replacement for Michael Carrick, and has identified Schneiderlin as the perfect candidate following his impressive performance for the Saints in the last two campaigns.

Schneiderlin was subject to interest from Arsenal, with Arsene Wenger a big admirer of his compatriot, but Southampton's asking price and the emergence of Francis Coquelin, according to the Daily Mail, has seen the Gunners pull out of the race and focus their attention elsewhere.

The report claims that Ronald Koeman's side want a fee of around £30m to part with the player, but United are said to be confident that they can land the player for a fee close to the £25m-mark.

Van Gaal has reportedly been told by the club hierarchy that his team need to challenge for the title during the upcoming campaign, after they settled for a place in the top four in his debut season in-charge of the club. The manager has called for some very good signings to mount a challenge against the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City.