Everton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin has credited manager Ronald Koeman for helping him rediscover the love of football.

The Frenchman was brought to Goodison Park in the January transfer window for around £ 20 million from Manchester United. Everton had made Schneiderlin as one of their primary transfer targets several months ago, and they had to resist attempts from the likes of Tottenham in order to sign the 27-year-old. Schneiderlin spent a huge chunk of the first half of this campaign on the bench or in the dugout – as he largely featured in the match day squad.

Schneiderlin was clearly not favoured by Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho. He was brought to the club by former boss Louis van Gaal, who left the club in the summer.

Schneiderlin may have been one of the most experienced defensive midfielders in the United set up, but the fact that he rarely got a look in made him fall out of love with the game. He says that joining Everton and playing regularly has made him fall in love with the game once again. His arrival has coincided with an upturn in fortunes for Everton, whose manager Ronald Koeman continues to be linked with the managerial job at Barcelona in the summer.

Schneiderlin has already made close to 3 times the number of appearances he had at United in the first half of the season, as he has made eight appearances for Everton.“I did lose my joy of football a little bit because when you don’t play, you don’t play with freedom and everything is very hard.Since I’ve come here the manager, he knows what I’m all about. He knows how I want to play, he knows my strengths.It’s a joy to work with him every day. I’m very happy to find this joy of football again and hopefully it will carry on for me,” said Schneiderlin.