Well, that escalated quickly. The silly season transfer mill was grinding awfully fine this morning after Sky Sports tweeted (apparently incorrectly) that Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin had issued a transfer request to try and force through a move to Tottenham Hotspur.

Sky Sources: Morgan Schneiderlin hands in transfer request at Southampton #SSN — Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 30, 2014

The internet, naturally, exploded. Only problem is that it appears it never happened. The Daily Echo and TalkSport are both refuting Sky Sports' claims (with the Echo possibly serving as TalkSport's source), saying that Schneiderlin has NOT in fact submitted a written transfer request, and that he reported for training at Southampton today as normal. Journos on Twitter are also throwing water on that particular fire.

I'd advise #saintsfc fans to steer clear of SSN story saying @SchneiderlinMo4 has handed in a transfer request, we don't believe that's true — Adam Blackmore (@bigadamsport) July 30, 2014

LOL. Great job, Sky Sports News!

(•_•) Sports! / \ (•_•) — menno plz ban (@dustingm) July 30, 2014

Clearly Schneiderlin wants to leave Southampton, and it appears that he's ready to join Spurs if he's allowed to leave. And despite what the Southampton owner is saying now, the odds are probably good that both Schneiderlin and Jay Rodriguez will eventually end up leaving the Saints before the end of the transfer window. This doesn't change anything, really. It does, however, provide a case study into social media, football transfers, and the power of groupthink.