Tottenham preparing player-plus-cash deal to sign Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin

Tottenham are reportedly considering a player-plus-cash deal in order to sign Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin.

According to the London Evening Standard, Spurs are confident of landing the Frenchman this summer after missing out last time around, and are willing to part with either Benjamin Stambouli or Andros Townsend to land their priority midfield target.

Schneiderlin has been a key player for the Saints this season, which sees them on the verge of qualifying for the Europa League and the club will be reluctant to let their top star ahead of next season.

Apart from Tottenham, London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea are also keen on the midfielder and could tempt him with the offer of Champions League football, something that the White Hart Lane outfit is unlikely to offer next season.

But the Mauricio Pochettino managed side do hold an advantage over the other clubs, as the player enjoyed a fine working relationship with the Argentine manager, who was in charge of the St Mary's outfit before taking over at White Hart Lane last summer.

Southampton are reluctant to sell yet another of their top players this summer, after losing a whole host of stars to rival clubs last summer and the report claims that the club will demand in excess of £20m for the midfielder.

However, Tottenham are confident they can land the midfielder for lesser by offering one of Stambouli or Townsend as part of the deal.

Both the Tottenham stars have been bit-part players at the club this season, but will still command good value. Especially Townsend, who is a regular in the Three Lions set up under Roy Hodgson.

Meanwhile, Southampton's head of football development Les Reed has made it clear that the club are not willing to let their key players leave in the summer, as they plan to hold on to them and strengthen further.

"It wouldn't be our intention to sell any of our players this summer," Reed said as quoted by the Evening Standard.

"We're in the process of renegotiating contracts with some but our main purpose at the moment is keeping this squad together and adding to it," the head of football development added.