COMMENT
When he found the back of the net with a superbly controlled shot to crown Germany’s victory over Ukraine on Sunday, Bastian Schweinsteiger could have been forgiven for thinking his fortunes were taking a turn for the better.
A knee injury suffered in early January had reduced him to only four brief substitute appearances in the remainder of his first season in Manchester United colours, but his return in time for Euro 2016 was a huge boost for a man whose various ailments have robbed him of huge chunks of the last five seasons.
But whatever Schweinsteiger’s level of success in France over the next month, he is likely to return to Old Trafford to find his United career on a knife-edge. Having signed a three-year contract last summer to join his former Bayern Munich boss Louis van Gaal in the Premier League, the midfielder failed to have a lasting impact in his 21 starts last term.
And while United paid a transfer fee in the region of only £6 million for the Germany captain, the vast sums committed to Schweinsteiger’s salary could represent a stumbling block to his hopes of being part of Jose Mourinho’s plans now the Portuguese has taken the reins in M16.
A Goal source close to the club has indicated that Schweinsteiger could well be surplus to Mourinho’s requirements, with the 31-year-old’s increasing lack of mobility and tendency to pick up injuries regularly being among the multiple reasons for United to look elsewhere as they build their midfield for the future.
Goal’s contact warned that Schweinsteiger is likely to play only a bit-part role even if he can persuade Mourinho that he has something to offer at Old Trafford, perhaps becoming more of a feature of the club’s Europa League and domestic cup campaigns than their Premier League title push.
Michael Carrick’s recent one-year renewal could also play a part in the decision making, with the incompatibility of the two as a central midfield pairing having been exemplified a number of times under Van Gaal last season, not least when Arsenal destroyed United in the engine room in the first 20 minutes of their 3-0 Premier League battering at the Emirates Stadium in October.
Having become a part of the furniture at Bayern following his emergence in 2002-03, Schweinsteiger has seen his status in the game drop significantly in recent times. And an enforced exit from United would represent a new blow for a player who still maintains a position of some esteem within the ranks of Jogi Low’s Germany national squad.
But while ‘Schweini’ clearly still has something to offer somebody, Mourinho has already outlined a number of targets for United this summer. And with Carrick having committed for another 12 months, the club appear to consider the German to be the more expendable of the two old heads. A side lacking energy and mobility in the midfield unit last term will doubtless have that added by the new manager, leaving Schweinsteiger struggling to justify his place in the former Chelsea boss’ plans.
So just as Low will currently be left considering whether to include his skipper in his starting line-up against Poland on Thursday, Schweinsteiger’s status within the ranks at Manchester United are also open for question. Once the first name on the team sheet for both club and country, his injury issues have cast him into the role of onlooker on a frequent basis in recent times.
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