Our resident Manchester United fans here inside the Football Transfer Tavern are getting very excited about the new season, and are deliberating about which players will depart Old Trafford.
Jose Mourinho has announced that there are nine players that will be leaving Manchester United, as they are not a part of his plans and one of those to be axed is Bastian Schweinsteiger.
The former Bayern Munich man has retired from international football as well, so is clearly dedicating to getting the most out of his club career.
Schweinsteiger only joined Manchester United last summer and didn’t really get to make much of an impact due to injuries, so it is debatable whether it was smart to let him go or whether he should be given another chance to prove himself.
Our landlord has created TWO pros and TWO cons to Jose Mourinho getting rid of the German midfielder…..
PRO – Injury
Last season Bastian Schweinsteiger suffered from a lot of injuries that kept him out for long periods at a time.
He is only getting older and at the age of 32 it is doubtful that he will be able to shake off the injuries that kept him out last season.
Mourinho is a manager who likes to have a consistent side, with as small a number of changes made as possible and with Schweinsteiger getting injuries it could discourage the manager from putting him in the side to begin with.
PRO – Pace
Under Louis Van Gaal, Manchester United played at a very pedestrian pace, however that will not be the case under Mourinho and they will be playing a lot more dynamic football.
It is hard to see Schweinsteiger fitting into that as much as players like Ander Herrera or Morgan Schneiderlin and there may be times where he would slow down the play, and stop the fluidity of Manchester United’s play, making them easier to defend against.
CON – Big game player
Manchester United are the type of team that want to be playing in the biggest football matches, competing at the highest level and Bastian Schweinsteiger has done that throughout his career for both club and country.
Even last season, he showed how he can impact a big game as he played a part in Manchester United’s goal in the FA Cup semi final first leg against West Ham United.
CON – Experience
Bastian Schweinsteiger has had a very successful career and has an abundance of experience at the top level.
This experience could be used to help the younger players as the German will have a lot of knowledge that he would be able to pass on to his team-mates, and also use while he is on the pitch.
He was taken to the Euros with Germany and was seen as a vital player for them still, partly due to his presence in the dressing room.
