Bastian Schweinsteiger Confirms Manchester United Move on Twitter

Bastian Schweinsteiger will no longer be able to call himself a “one club man.” The longtime Bayern Munich stalwart and Germany captain has been at the center of rumors moving to Manchester United. The clubs agreed on terms and a transfer fee, leaving it up to the 30-year-old to decide. He is taking a medical in England today.

The Guardian estimates the transfer fee to be around $23 million. Schweinsteiger had been in the last year of his contract at Bayern and he couldn’t reach an agreement on an extension, which likely helped keep the cost (relatively speaking) for United.

Here’s how Schweinsteiger announced the move, via Twitter:

This is a fascinating move on a number of levels. There’s always an air of intrigue when a “superstar” type player moves from one big club to another in different leagues. Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm helped define the modern, trophy-rich era at Bayern, but with Pep Guardiola continually adding midfielders, there wasn’t a place anymore for Schweinsteiger, long  term.

On the United side, this could end up being a coup. Sure Schweinsteiger turns 31 on August 1, but he’s still a top level central midfielder. Is he an automatic 90-minute starter each and every match at this stage of his career? Perhaps not, but United is back in the Champions League this fall and will need reinforcements regardless … and Schweinsteiger is more than a simple reinforcement, instead he’s a player who’s won the World Cup, Champions League and numerous Bundesliga titles. I’ll go out on a very long limb and consider that sort of resume and asset for any club.

Let’s work under the assumption, as of July 12, that Robin Van Persie is going to Fenerbahce and Angel Di Maria — despite all the rumors — stays at Old Trafford. This would lead to believe United manager Louis van Gaal is dumping his three-man defensive unit with wingbacks and moving to a more tradition 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 type system.

Under this premise, we could see a three-man midfield triangle based around Schweinsteiger, Michael Carrick and Andre Herrera — with Morgan Schneiderlin (maybe) on the way? The front three would be some variant of new signing Memphis Depay, Wayne Rooney and Di Maria. On paper that looks like a strong team, although question remain about what happens when David De Gea finally makes his long-rumored move to Real Madrid. United still likely need another striker and perhaps a central defender, along with a replacement first choice keeper.

An underrated part of this move is United wrapped up the Schweinsteiger move in mid-July, meaning he’ll join the team on its North American tour. By the time the Premier League begins in August he’ll have some games under his belt with his new teammates, cutting down on the adjustment period for Van Gaal. If United is realistic about winning the EPL this coming season it can’t afford a slow start — those matches still add up and count in the table come May.

The questions in defense and goal mean United are still behind Chelsea at the top of the Premier League, but the gap between Manchester City and Arsenal is closing. If and of itself, United improved significantly adding Schweinsteiger.

[Photo via USA Today Sports Images]