One of the biggest transfer rumours this summer has been that suggesting Bastian Schweinsteiger is the subject of interest from Manchester United.

It makes sense, with the player having worked under Louis van Gaal before and United lacking real quality in midfield, but it would certainly be a bold move by the English giants to launch a bid for Bayern Munich's vice-captain.

Yet, if anyone is to make such a bold move, it would be the confident figure of van Gaal.

A lot of the reaction has focused on whether the signing would be good for the Manchester club, or whether it would benefit Schweinsteiger himself, but could Bayern actually let the player go?

The knee-jerk reaction to that question is an abrupt no. Schweinsteiger is one of the best midfielders in world football and, when hearing his name, one finds it hard not to immediately remember his sensational performances in the 2014 FIFA World Cup that helped Germany lift the title, especially in the final.

With a fierce shot from distance and the ability to deliver brilliant set pieces, Schweinsteiger is a huge player going forward, whilst his anticipation of play and tireless engine allows him to offer help at the back too. German national team coach Joachim Low called him "the brain" of his country's side, whilst his endless list of honours say everything you need to know about his boundless talent.

Could Bayern cope without their midfield mastermind?

Well, they had to for half of the 2014-15 season anyway, as the player only managed to make 28 appearances in all competitions this term due to injury - his lowest tally since fully establishing himself in the first team in 2003. Yet, they still managed to claim the Bundesliga title once more and reach the semi finals of the Champions League.

This is because Bayern simply have so many options in midfield.

Alongside Xabi Alonso and Philipp Lahm, new signing Sebastian Rode had a solid first season with the club, often deputising for the injured Schweinsteiger, whilst teenager Gianluca Gaudino excelled in the middle having been given a handful of chances to do so. Javi Martinez played well when fit and Thiago Alcantara also made his comeback from injury in April after a year out, and will be another option available this season.

Going back to Rode, the former Eintracht Frankfurt man has really impressed in his first year at the very top of German football, and, at 24-years-old, he is a serious contender for a long-term replacement for one of Bayern's aging midfield stars.

With Lahm now 31-years-old, Schweinsteiger to be the same age when the new season starts, and Alonso 33, the club must take into account the future and start to give the likes of Rode more chances, as they need to have plenty of experience on board when the time comes for them to take over in the middle of the park.

If Schweinsteiger was to move on to Manchester, then this would give Pep Guardiola the chance to integrate Rode into the team properly, and the same goes for Gaudino. These potential successors should be thrown in there early to gain the experience necessary to start in one of Europe's elite sides.

Their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona suggested that this should be done sooner rather than later too, as the mature trio of Alonso, Lahm and Schweinsteiger looked tired and were very sloppy throughout both legs as their side crashed out, victim to some of Barca's youthful stars, such as Ivan Rakitic and Rafinha.

When Guardiola deployed Rode and Martinez alongside Alonso in the second leg, Bayern won 3-2. Whilst this wasn't enough to turn the score around on aggregate, it was no coincidence that the changes resulted in more energy in midifeld and a better performance.

Yet, Schweinsteiger's ineffectual performance in that first leg, and several others this season, could also be down to Guardiola's tendency to play him out of position. The German likes to occupy the holding role in midfield as he does not have the pace about him to operate in a box-to-box role. However, the latter is the position he has played this season, with his manager preferring Alonso deeper in midfield.

Lothar Matthaus, formerly of Bayern Munich and Germany, put it perfectly when, talking to Bild, he made the bold but honest statement that "had Thiago and Martinez been fit last season, Schweinsteiger would not have played in important games."

Guardiola is not the player's biggest fan, openly admitting that he does not like that he moves the ball quite slowly and is not the quickest physically, traits that do not suit his tika-taka style.

If Bayern were to let the player go, then they could import a proper box-to-box midfielder who would complement the team much better and provide a more suitable fit.

Also, going back to my earlier point about youth, if the same young players play every game in midfield, they are bound to get tired themselves, so to keep Schweinsteiger around for depth and rotational purposes would be great for the team, especially given the quality and sheer passion for the club he can bring off the bench.

When kept fresh-legged, Schweinsteiger's greatness can help lead Bayern to that fourth successive Bundesliga title, even if it means he does not play every game.

The team play so much football each year too that rotation is key in their squad, with four competitions at once hardly the easiest thing to balance. Therefore, Guardiola and Bayern need as much depth as possible to ensure they are not putting tired teams out that are going to result in their elimination from one.

Given the injury crisis that the team endured last season too, it would be a huge surprise if Guardiola let Schweinsteiger go, unless he had a replacement or two lined up or signed beforehand. Medhi Benatia, Holger Badstuber, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, David Alaba, Martinez and Schweinsteiger all spent time on the treatment table, all at the same time, this year, which forced Guardiola to call up several academy products towards the end of the season.

In mid-April, the situation became so critical that the team had just 14 players fit ahead of their Champions League quarter-final with FC Porto, and defeat to the Portuguese side in the first leg of their tie saw club doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt and his staff quit, with them claiming that Bayern had blamed them for the injury problems.

The crisis can be argued to have cost Bayern a couple of trophies this year, and Guardiola will not want a repeat of the same situation.

With Robben and Ribery arguably the most susceptible to knocks in this team as of late, Schweinsteiger is even more important as he is versatile enough to cover these wide areas when needed, having began his career as a winger before a certain van Gaal transformed him into a central midfielder.

However, on the other hand, one could argue that allowing the injury-prone Schweinsteiger to leave the club would help fix the issue. The club cannot continue to rely on the 30-year-old given both his age and his tendency to get injured, so adopting a new key player in the form of a replacement for the German could spark a transition from old to youth, one which will need to begin soon anyway if Bayern's dominance of German football is to have any longevity.

With Manchester United reportedly willing to offer around £8 million for Schweinsteiger's services, Bayern should bite their hand off and take it, with that much money for a player of his age and with his injury history a great amount.

Of course, they would miss the incredible experience and marvellous leadership of their vice-captain, and Germany's new captain, but by integrating someone else into the team in this position, they could quickly mimic these traits.

Now is almost a perfect time for the player to leave. The final game of the season marked his 500th appearance for the club, on which he scored, and Manchester United present a new challenge for him. Schweinsteiger has been at Bayern his whole career, yet to experience football elsewhere, so the opportunity to go to England is sure to be tempting.

He has won every honour with Bayern possible, with there little left for him to achieve. Again, the switch to Manchester would thus give him new goals to strive towards.

From Bayern's perspective, whilst it would be sad to see Schweinsteiger go, the man dubbed "Fussballgott" by his beloved fans, but it would be the smart decision.

Under Guardiola, he has not fit into the team properly, playing in a role that doesn't suit him, meaning they have not got everything out of him that they could have. With plenty of promising young players ready to take his spot in the team and the club's ability to attract star names, it has reached a stage where Bayern can effectively upgrade the player, and thus his loss would not be too great to a team of their standard.

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About the author
Amee Ruszkai
Head of the Sunderland, Swansea City and women football sections at VAVEL UK. Email: [email protected]