How Big a Steal Is Manchester United Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger?

Two moments stand out from Bastian Schweinsteiger's Manchester United debut that indicate just why he is such an important signing for the Red Devils.

The first was during the warm-up ahead of kick-off. Schweinsteiger started his United career on the bench, so warmed up with the substitutes group. He was involved in a passing drill with Andreas Pereira and Paddy McNair.

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Seeing him chatting with the two youngsters was quite moving. He was clearly taking the role of a senior mentor. Those young players could not wish for a better footballing role model, someone who has won all that the game has to offer, and competed at a very high level throughout his career.

As Michael Carrick put it in an interview with the club's official website: "He has been at the very top. He is a World Cup-winning captain—what more can you ask for?"

The second was after he had come on. Within a few moments he was giving out orders, organising his defenders and looking every inch the leader in midfield that United have lacked for so long. Regardless of anything else, his leadership ability will be invaluable.

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When measuring the value or potential value of transfers, one thing that often gets neglected is how well the player meets the needs of the team at which he is arriving. When Manchester City spent £49 million on Raheem Sterling, much of the commentary was about the price.

However, what was talked about less was just how much City needed a player like Sterling. There are the homegrown requirements which he satisfies, certainly, but B/R's City correspondent Rob Pollard wrote back in April "What [City] lack the most is a player with pace who can carry the ball, which is exactly what Sterling offers in abundance."

A midfield general has been what United have lacked the most for a long time. There are other pressing needs now, too, but the absence of a bona fide leader in the centre of midfield has been a problem for so long that it is quite difficult to believe it has finally been resolved. Not since Roy Keane have United had a player who fits that bill so well.

The fee for addressing this need was reportedly £14.4 million. Jeremy Cross of the Daily Star reports that his wages are £275,000 per week.

While any rational person would consider it to be a vast amount of money, in the current world of football, the transfer fee is relatively low. This reflects the player's age and lack of resale value. If he plays at his best for a large part of his time at United, then it is definitely in "steal" range.

The wages, if they are reported correctly, are of course enormous.

Whether they represent a steal, even if Schweinsteiger remains at a high level over the next couple of seasons, is debatable. However, if he does, then they will at least seem—again, within the parameters of football in 2015—reasonable.

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In terms of his quality as a player and how well he addresses a key need at United, there is little to debate.

The real intangible in all of this, though, is the player's fitness. The optimist will point out that last season he started five games for Germany in the World Cup, 15 for Bayern Munich in the league—plus a further five substitute appearances—and made five starts in the Champions League.

The season before he started 22 games in the league and seven in the Champions League, hardly terrible numbers.

The pessimist might point out that he missed 50 games through injury over those two campaigns, per Transfermarkt.co.uk. His former manager Pep Guardiola said recently, per Sky Sports, "When he does not have injury problems, I am completely 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." 

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That final sentence is a little ominous. It is also a little questionable, given that Schweinsteiger made a combined 38 starts in the league and Champions League for his club in 2012/13, and was instrumental in Bayern winning the treble.

Regardless, fitness will be the key issue which finally determines how much of a steal Schweinsteiger has been. If he plays 30 games per season for United for the next three years, then it is a huge bargain.

There is an imaginary sliding scale which diminishes the extent of the bargain as the number of appearances drops. However, even in the worst-case scenario his presence in the squad adds value. That aspect is why it was so meaningful to watch him warm up with McNair and Pereira.

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United's youngsters have someone well worth looking up to, which goes some way to being worth the price on its own. If he can perform on the pitch as well, it will be remembered as one of the best-value transfers of recent times.