SAINTS will be hoping Morgan Schneiderlin does not line up against them at Old Trafford tomorrow.

That is because the Frenchman has emerged as something of a lucky omen for Louis Van Gaal after joining for £25m last summer.

In 20 competitive appearances – including one as a substitute – Schneiderlin has only once been on the losing side.

And that solitary loss, a 2-1 defeat Swansea, came way back in August.

Van Gaal came under immense pressure last month as United suffered four successive defeats for the first time since 1961.

He missed the Champions League defeat at Wolfsburg and league setbacks against Bournemouth, Norwich and Stoke.

But part of the reason for those losses could have been that Schneiderlin didn’t play in any of them due to a hamstring injury.

The 26-year-old has certainly been missed at St Mary’s.

Saints have lost numerous first team players in recent times – Rickie Lambert, Dejan Lovren, Adam Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne, Luke Shaw and Callum Chambers.

But it could be argued none of them have been missed as much as Schneiderlin.

He was very much an unsung hero as Saints claimed back-to-back top ten Premier League finishes.

His ability to break up opposition attacks, and then set Saints on their way with his accurate passing, was a key to the team’s successes.

Schneiderlin was the most complete defensive midfielder at the club.

Victor Wanyama might be stronger in the tackle, but the Kenyan’s range of passing is nowhere near as good as the Frenchman’s.

Schneiderlin was a pivotal figure at Saints.

Last season, he averaged an 89.3 per cent success rate – the best percentage figure of any regular Saints player.

He also made an average of 61.2 passes per game, again more than any of his colleagues – and way ahead of Wanyama (47.3 average passes per game).

The previous season, 2013/14, it had been a similar story. Again, he had the best passing success rate – 89.3 per cent – and again the most passes per game (58.5 – ten and a half more on average per game than Wanyama).

Schneiderlin was a teenage unknown when he arrived at St Mary’s in the summer of 2008. At a time when money was increasingly tight at the club, he cost £1.2m from French club Strasbourg.

Saints were relegated from the Championship at the end of his first season at the club, with administration also casting a huge shadow over St Mary’s.

It could be argued that the third division was no place for a cultured French footballer, but Schneiderlin adapted well and credits Alan Pardew with helping him improve his tackling.

Schneiderlin left after making 261 appearances in league and cup.