Morgan Schneiderlin Means More to Manchester United Than Bastian Schweinsteiger
Despite the likes of Angel Di Maria and Falcao arriving at Old Trafford last summer, Bastian Schweinsteigerโs signing from Bayern Munich has a different aura about it. Rather than a simple case of money talking, the move of the man who has called Munich home for 17 years is a statement of intent the magnitude of which many would have doubted even United being capable of.
While it is something of a surprise that Schweinsteiger would leave Bayern at this relatively late stage in his career, his choice of destination is less so. United themselves need little selling to a player, but the chance to work under Louis van Gaal again undoubtedly played a major role in his decision. It was the Dutch manager who converted Schweinsteiger from his original position as a wide midfielder to a dedicated holding role, winning the 2009/10 Bundesliga in the process.
However, despite the romance and enormity of Schweinsteigerโs signing, it is not Unitedโs most important business of the window. Signing Morgan Schneiderlin from Southampton will prove to be a much more significant move, with the Frenchman likely to have an impact that Schweinsteiger is simply incapable of.
Defensive midfield has been a problem point for United since the departure of Roy Keane in 2005. Michael Carrick has performed ably as a deep-lying playmaker, but United have never managed to truly replace the Irishman. Carrick himself will be 34 by the time the season starts.
In terms of playing style, Schweinsteiger lies somewhere between Carrick and Keane. He is able to initiate and orchestrate attacking moves through an outstanding range of passing as Carrick does, but he also possesses a ferocious tackling ability akin to Keaneโs, albeit with less of the unbridled aggression that made the former United captain such a fearsome competitor.
His mammoth list of honoursโwhich includes a Champions League and a World Cupโsuggests heโll have little trouble acclimatising to the pressures of being a Manchester United player.
However, Schneiderlin's attributes make him best suited to take the more destructive role of Keane. Although United fans will point to the five titles they have won since Keane left the club, itโs undoubtedly been a weak point in the squad. One needs only to look at the impact that Nemanja Matic and Francis Coquelin had on Chelsea and Arsenalโs campaigns last season, respectively, to see how important the position can be.
While there will inevitably be some muddying of the distinctions between the destructive and deep-lying playmaker roles, the former is much more important to United. Creating attacking openings was something United excelled at last term, while it was their lackadaisical defending that often let them down.
Van Gaal has so far favoured a 4-1-4-1 system, and the option to play a destructive midfielder between the banks of defence and midfield is a vital one, arguably more important than having another creative outlet when the likes of Di Maria, Juan Mata and new signing Memphis Depay are all available to play in more advanced midfield roles.
On an individual level, Schneiderlin also arguably offers more than Schweinsteiger. The German will be 31 when United play their first game of the new campaign, and he has been troubled with injuries in the last two seasons.
Conversely, Schneiderlin has been one of the Premier Leagueโs top performers in his three seasons in the leagueโWhoScored ranked him as the 10th best player last seasonโand, at only 25, has considerably more to offer United in the long-term.
If Van Gaal was to utilise both players at the same timeโperhaps behind an attacking three of Depay, Mata and Di Maria and a lone strikerโthen Unitedโs midfield will rival any in the Premier League, but it is Schneiderlin, not Schweinsteiger, who holds the key to taking them to the next level.
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