Das Boot! Are Schweinsteiger’s Man Utd days numbered?
If we rewind to this time last season, Manchester United fans were purring over the capture of Germany legend, Bastian Schweinsteiger. With Morgan Schneiderlin arriving around the same time, the problematic central midfield hole left so long un-addressed by first Sir Alex Ferguson and then briefly by David Moyes, appeared to have been finally rectified. Unfortunately for Schweinsteiger, a year in football terms can be a long time – time that the Germany captain is sadly running out of.
Put simply, Schweinsteiger will be 32 on August 1st, and if Mino Raiola’s self imposed deadline for any Paul Pogba transfer to be completed is to be believed, then the chances are he may well be receiving a 6 foot 3, Pogba shaped central midfield wall blocking his way to the Manchester United first team, as a present from new boss Jose Mourinho.
Despite a promising start to his United career, Schweinsteiger’s season dovetailed after the 3-0 mauling Van Gaal’s side took at the Emirates against an Arsenal midfield that ran rings around a weary midfield axis of Schweinsteiger and Michael Carrick. Schweinsteiger’s performance that day was a frustrating one. Sky sports pundit Gary Neville described him as a “dog on a lead.” Referring to his battle with Santi Cazorla, Neville said, “In this game they got concerned about Cazorla. And Cazorla, he had him on a lead. It was like a man with a ball saying to a dog “come to get it off me, come to get it off me” and as soon as he gets near him, he throws it off to Mertesacker. It’s like “Come on, come on doggie.”
Schweinsteiger recovered to score a last minute goal to hand United an away win over Watford and an equaliser against would-be Champions Leicester, in November but a knee injury sustained in an FA cup match against Sheffield United in January ruled the German out for 13 matches. He returned later that spring to make four substitute appearances before a knee ligament injury ended his season. Schweinsteigers injury record over the last few seasons is something even Pep Guardiola, back when he was manager of Bayern Munich, felt compelled to mention. On his 2015 summer move to United the ex Barcelona boss alluded to the difficulties facing Schweinsteiger when he said, “When he does not have injury problems, I am convinced he will do very well at Manchester United. He is a top, top player. Unfortunately during the last three years he was never in good condition.”
Schweinsteiger’s injury woes and lack of mobility will not have escaped the attention to detail obsessed Jose Mourinho. The Portugese likes his midfield base to be a powerful presence – Nemanja Matic at Chelsea – or at least mobile enough to encourage the counter attacking football he insists on. Pogba fits this description perfectly. There is a reason Mourinho tried so hard in his last year at Chelsea to sign the young Frenchman, and now why he is willing to sanction upwards of £100 million to secure his return to United. Pogba is the perfect mix of pace, strength and skill that United need to drag them away from the drab, possession based football that Louis Van Gaal seemingly insisted on. Schweinsteiger’s calmness on the ball and uncanny ability to always pick the right pass are undoubted, but Pogba’s 10 goals and 12 assists last season stand in stark contrast to the Germany captain’s return of 2 goals and zero assists.
With Michael Carrick, 35, the elder statesman in the team and backed with a fresh new 1 year contract, there would appear to be no room in the Old Trafford engine room for Schweinsteiger, with Mourinho more likely to turn to Pogba’s French compatriot Morgan Schneiderlin, who will be determined to improve on an inconsistent first season and impress his new manager early on. Schweinsteiger has proved in the past that he is a fighter, what remains to be seen is how long this old “dog” has the legs to keep going.