Schweinsteiger vs. Schneiderlin: Can They Work Together In Manchester United Midfield?

Schweinsteiger vs. Schneiderlin

Manchester United could do a double in the transfer window, after signing the German legend that is Bastian Schweinsteiger, the Manchester club could be on the verge of signing another central midfielder, Morgan Schneiderlin from Southampton.

The 25-year-old Saints player was one of the standout performers for the South coast club and was touted to join Arsenal in the off season. But it seems that Manchester United have stolen a march on their London rivals and are in pole position to sign the French midfielder.

The big question is do these players have a similar game? Can they work together or is Bastian a solution for the present while Morgan is the answer for the future? We look at their stats from last season thanks to Squawka.com and judge just what they are good at.

One is great in attack while the other is a rock in defence

Bastian didn’t play all the games in the Bundesliga last season and only featured 20 times in the league for the Champions. Morgan played 26 games for Southampton and was one of their star players, however when it comes to attacking intent, it is the German who streaks ahead of the French star.

Bastian created nearly double the number of key passes per game last season than Morgan, Schweinsteiger averaged 1.3 key passes per game while Morgan provided just 0.7 key passes per game. This trend continued in the chances created section as well with the German creating 1.5 chances on goal per game compared to the measly 0.77 chances per game by Schneiderlin.

While Bastian is ahead of the Frenchman in terms of providing his teammates with chances to score, their passing % is almost identical, in fact it is Morgan who just about nudges ahead of Schweinsteiger in this stat with 89% compared to the 88% pass completion by Bastian. Bastian tough makes more forward passes and averaged 42 forward passes per game compared to the 40 per game by Morgan.

Both are known to play in deeper roles, but Schneiderlin seems to have a more defensive facet to his game. He is one of the best tacklers in the game and averaged 3.04 tackles per game while Bastian only managed 1.2 tackles per game for Bayern Munich. Morgan also intercepts the ball more often than the German with 2.4 interceptions per game while Bastian only got in 1.4 interceptions per game.

If United do sign Morgan, we could see a combination of the two playing in midfield. Bastian would be playing in a slightly more advanced role and linking up and setting the attack for Manchester United while Morgan could be the player who cleans up and keeps the defence safe and covered. This season could be something spectacular for Manchester United fans and the transfer window has just started for the red half of Manchester, as they try to get back the Premier League crown from Chelsea.