After the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Old Trafford is all set for the imminent arrival of Paul Pogba for a sum which will make the Frenchman the costliest transfer of all time. Jose Mourinho, the new boss at the helm has already given some indications that there will be changes at the club and United would need to clear out some players in order to make way for the astronomical wages of the players they have bought in the window and for Pogba whose transfer is nearing completion.
According to reports, Mourinho has already informed nine players that they won’t be featuring in his plans and are welcome to find a club themselves. Of those nine players, the most prominent name is reportedly Bastian Schweinsteiger. Manchester United are very keen to offload the German World Cup winner who still has two years remaining in his contract and earns £160,000 per week.
Bastian Schweinsteiger moved to Manchester United from Bayern Munich last year for a reported fee of £6.5m and had a difficult debut season. The German midfielder, made 18 appearances for the Red Devils in the Premier League scoring a single goal but it became increasingly clear that he wasn’t able to do the job his manager wanted and was left exposed too often as opponents ran past him easily.
His frustrations of not being able to cope with the pressure also got the better of him as he was handed a three-match ban for striking West Ham’s Winston Reid on the throat. Despite his poor performances last season, PSG are interested in the player so there’s an exit option already available. However, a player of the mentality and quality of Schweinsteiger would not opt for that easy route just yet as he feels he has some unfinished business in England.
There’s no doubt about the quality of the Germany star and the kind of experience he can offer on the pitch is almost second to none. Schweinsteiger is a born leader and with his experience and leadership abilities, he would be an ideal player to have on the pitch amongst the young group of players in Manchester United’s defence and midfield. Schweinsteiger is now 31 and he found it difficult to cope with the Premier League at 30 years of age in his first season, the confusing approach of Louis Van Gaal also played a part in aggravating the problems and has to be considered as a significant reason behind his poor performances.
With Jose Mourinho, at the helm, the instructions would be potentially much more straight forward and having learned some valuable lessons from his debut season, the Germany captain can prove to be one of the most important players for the Red Devils next season if Mourinho uses him as one of his double pivots in the midfield.
However, it seems like the Portuguese manager is not thinking that way but the value of experience and leadership is often the glue that ticks a young team together and there’s a few better in world football at that than the former Bayern Munich star. It remains to be seen what happens next for the 31 year old but even if United need to clear some from their current wage budget, the potential sale of Bastian Schweinsteiger can turn out to be a mistake.
