Bastian Schweinsteiger's departure from Bayern Munich was met with a real sense of grief... and that tells you he represents excellent business for Manchester United

• Bastian Schweinsteiger is set to join Man United from Bayern Munich
• His departure has been greeted with a sombre mood in Bavaria
• The Germany captain's arrival at Old Trafford represents good business
• He is a timely signing for a United side who have regressed of late
• 30-year-old's arrival will alleviate their reliance on Michael Carrick 
• Schweinsteiger has won everything in the game and brings experience 

By Adam Shergold

Published: 06:11 EST, 12 July 2015 | Updated: 08:42 EST, 12 July 2015

The news that Bastian Schweinsteiger will be swapping Munich for Manchester this summer was met with the inevitable chorus that the 30-year-old is past his best.

The social media consensus from many quarters was that United are getting a hand-me-down whose match-defining influence has long since waned and whose days of collecting trophies for fun are over.

But that was most definitely not the view in Bavaria, where the departure of their beloved Schweini has been met with a real sense of grief and even grievance.

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Bastian Schweinsteiger is set to complete a move from Bayern Munich to Manchester United

The midfielder holds the World Cup after playing an integral role in Germany's success in Brazil last year

Schweinsteiger will be reunited with Louis van Gaal, who coached him at Bayern between 2009 and 2011

Franck Ribery was honest about his sadness after Schweinsteiger's departure was announced

Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has been criticised for letting Schweinsteiger go

Franck Ribery looked even more vexed than usual. 'I'm very, very sad,' he said. 'The entire team is sad because he's been with us for so long. Besides that, he has always been a great friend to me.'

Captain Philipp Lahm lamented: 'Losing Bastian Schweinsteiger is a pity for me and the club. I had hopes that he will stay with us. We spent bad and great moments together. We will miss him.'

And Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the chief executive who tried in vain to persuade the club icon to stay, was heckled by disgruntled fans who will doubtless view his departure as another sign that Bayern's status in European football is regressing.

This sense of loss at the German champions speaks of the reality - that Manchester United have bought a footballer of impeccable pedigree, a proven champion and, above all, someone for the here and now.

After a season in which Louis van Gaal's team took a step back for every two forward, they obviously remain a long way short of Chelsea and, to a lesser extent, Manchester City and Arsenal.

So this was no time to be buying an unproven 20-year-old and waiting for them to flower, especially in a central midfield position where they are dangerously reliant on an ageing Michael Carrick.

After 17 years Schweinsteiger will be leaving Bayern Munich

Schweinsteiger celebrates with the European Cup after Bayern's triumph over Borussia Dortmund in 2013

The Germany midfielder shows off the World Cup to thousands of adoring fans in Berlin last year

Schweinsteiger calls the shots from his midfield during Germany's pre-World Cup friendly with Armenia

Schweinsteiger gets stuck in to Lionel Messi during last year's World Cup final in the Maracana

The Bayern Munich midfielder will bring a wealth of experience to Old Trafford and is a World Cup winner

Schweinsteiger was offered a new contract by Bayern but felt the need for a new challenge

Schweinsteiger's arrival allays such fears. He is a good fit, a signing of experience and indisputable class that strengthens the team and moves them that little bit closer to the reigning Premier League champions.

He also brings that nous that comes with winning trophies, of knowing what to do at certain points of matches at high-pressure junctures in the season. Of leading both in the dressing room and on the pitch.

The Germany captain has won pretty much everything there is to win in the game and it's difficult to put a value on that.

He has eight Bundesliga winners medals, seven German Cup medals and lifted the Champions League in 2013. He was integral to Germany's World Cup success a year ago in Brazil and has 111 caps for his country.

With such a glittering array of silverware, it would have been easy for Schweinsteiger to rest on his laurels, gladly accepting the one and two-year contract extensions at Bayern until he gradually slipped into a coaching role.

But eschewing the comforts of home for a fresh challenge at United speaks of an unquenched thirst to continue chasing trophies. This is encouraging for United, who need to be firing on all cylinders from the off next month.

Schweinsteiger's qualities are well known by now - the boundless energy, the technical acumen, the instinctive reading of the game and the venomous shot.

Schweinsteiger scoring against Manchester United in a Champions League tie at Old Trafford in April 2014

The German celebrates his equaliser in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals in 2014

Schweinsteiger wags his finger at Wayne Rooney after an incident in the tie. The German was later sent off

United and David Moyes found this to their cost last year when Schweinsteiger's rocket half-volley into the roof of the net at Old Trafford all but ended their Champions League hopes.

He leaves Bayern on exactly 500 appearances and they have yielded 67 goals. 

It is not Schweinsteiger's principal role to find the net, of course, but when he does, they tend to be at crucial times. It could be similar to the way Paul Scholes would pop up late in games to rescue United.

Although more than capable of producing solid performances in wider positions, Schweinsteiger will play in the middle for United - but it doesn't necessarily mean the end for Carrick.

The two thirty-somethings are likely to be paired together when Van Gaal opts for the conventional 4-4-2 or a diamond shape. Likewise in a midfield three, with one of them shifting to the right and Ander Herrera on the left.

The only scenario in which Carrick, who turns 34 at the end of this month, is excluded is if United are successful in their continued pursuit of Southampton's Morgan Schneiderlin.

Michael Carrick will continue to play an influential role in United's midfield despite the German's arrival 

United retain an interest in Southampton's Morgan Schneiderlin despite Schweinsteiger's arrival

But Van Gaal knows Schweinsteiger and his limits well enough - he coached him at Bayern between 2009 and 2011 - to know he will have to be carefully managed.

A succession of knee and ankle problems in recent seasons will cast doubt on Schweinsteiger's ability to make it through 38 Premier League games, two Cup competitions and the Champions League.

The truth is he may have to miss the odd fixture for 'maintenance', especially since the days of playing in a Bayern team thrashing opponents four and five-nil with Manuel Neuer showboating on the half-way line won't be replicated in the more competitive English league.

Nonetheless, this does not make his purchase a 'risk' or a 'gamble.' Midfield players like Xavi, Andrea Pirlo, Scholes and, of course, Ryan Giggs have proved effective well into their thirties when carefully looked after.

Paying £14m for the captain of the Germany national team, who brings a wealth of energy and experience represents excellent business for United.

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