MAN UNITED Schweinsteiger on way out NOT FIT TO WEAR THE SHIRT
Jose ready to axe injury-plagued German
BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER is set to be the most highprofile casualty of Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United summer clear-out.
Mourinho is closing in on the world record £100million capture of Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba.
He has admitted several of his squad will be offloaded and Germany skipper Schweinsteiger is set to head that exodus.
The injury-plagued midfielder made just 13 Premier League appearances for United last season, his last coming as a substitute in the Manchester derby on March 20.
An ongoing knee issue brought a premature end to his season and the 31-year-old – who recently wed tennis star Ana Ivanovic – is not due to return to pre- season training until a week tomorrow.
That means he is certain to miss the start of the season and it is understood Mourinho is unwilling to carry players who can’t stay fit.
Pogba’s anticipated arrival will shunt Schweinsteiger, who played at Euro 2016, further down the midfield pecking order. The United boss, on the club’s tour of China, said: “Obviously there are some players here who are not going to stay in the squad, so the squad will be different.”
In a f urther bl ow to Schweinsteiger, Mourinho is said to want to keep Marouane Fellaini, who has also yet to return following his Euro 2016 duty with Belgium.
Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera, Morgan Schneiderlin and Daley Blind – who played in midfield in United’s 4-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Friday – are all vying for places. Herrera r evealed Mourinho wants to play with more intensity and at a higher tempo.
“We want v ery aggressive players in the midfield, and I think we’re going to see a very offensive United,” he said.
United take on Man City in Beijing tomorrow as Mourinho and Pep Guardiola go head to head for the first time since the two rivals were in charge of Real Madrid and Barcelona.