Manchester United, after three years of mediocrity, have suddenly turned themselves into one of the strongest sides in Europe this summer. The new manager Jose Mourinho has bought in a number of players who improve the squad drastically but will now have to look at players who are in the squad who do not deserve to play consistently next season. One such star player who may be out of the club this summer is German legend Bastian Schweinsteiger. The former Bayern Munich skipper moved to Old Trafford just last summer but was not able to assert his dominance on the side in his first season in the Premier League due to injuries. And it is now revealed that Jose Mourinho, the new head of the Red Devils, is happy to let him leave this summer. Should he actually let him go?
The 32-year old who celebrated his birthday yesterday retired from international football last week. His final stint with the German national side did not end well as they were thrown out of the EURO 16 recently in France by the hosts. However, he would have expected to have a big role to play for his club but it is now revealed that Mourinho does not see him having a place in the squad next season. The German made 21-appearances in all competitions for United under Louis van Gall but missed out on the crucial part of the season through injury. He managed to score just the one goal, did not provide a single assist and was termed as a flop in his debut season at the club.
So it does not come as a surprise that Mourinho is looking at other alternatives than give him a chance to prove himself at the club. But that seems to a wrong approach especially with the amount of reputation that ‘Basti’ carries with him. He is a top class technician, maybe even one of the best in his position when fit and is an asset for any team he plays for on and off the field. His vision and range of passing are attributes most of the United team do not possess and his experience only helps the Red Devils control games in crunch times.
United have the likes of Michael Carrick , Morgan Schneiderlin, Ander Herrera, Marouane Fellaini and Paul Pogba who is expected to complete the move to the club in the coming days. This though leaves Schweinsteiger with fewer chances to play, though he is an upgrade on most of the players on the list. Carrick and Fellaini failed to impress in the previous season while Schneiderlin was impressive at times, he has time to blossom into a player who can control the midfield for United. Schweinsteiger, on the other hand, has already proven himself at the biggest stage and is easily the best option for the Mourinho next season.
The Red Devils are also entertaining European football next season and will need all the depth possible in the squad and keeping hold of the German midfielder seems to be the sensible thing to do for the manager. However, he is currently being linked with a move to Inter Milan or AC Milan and United will surely be left to rue their decision if they let the 32-year old to go with at least another couple of years left in his career. Do you think United are making a mistake in trying to offload Bastian Schweinsteiger this summer?
