German International Bastian Schweinsteiger, who recently retired from International football, was overlooked by his club Manchester United for their upcoming Europa League group stage matches. After spending more than a decade at Bayern Munich, he headed towards Manchester last year but did not perform all that well. Though he played a few matches for the Red Devils at the start of the campaign under Louis van Gaal, he could not cement a place in the team.
Bastian, who played only 18 Premier League games for United last season, was recently shortlisted for Manchester United’s 25 member Premier League squad but won’t feature against the likes of Fenerbache, Feyenoord and Zorya Luhansk in the Europa League. A few days ago, during a media event, Jose Mourinho addressed that there is a possibility of Bastian’s return to the playing XI but it is very unlikely that the German would get a lot of time on the pitch.
On the other hand, the 32-year-old World Cup winner was pretty optimistic about his future at Old Trafford saying, “I have a contract until 2018 and you know what the atmosphere is like at Old Trafford. It’s my dream to run out there again.” He was subsequently sent to train with the Under-23 squad by the Portuguese manager.
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Meanwhile, 18-year-old defender Axel Tuanzebe was included in the 27-man squad for the upcoming Europa League, which certainly raised a few eyebrows.
Jose Mourinho’s appointment as the manager has brought a smile on the face of the fans, and the Red Devils are off to a flying start in the current season winning their three Premier League matches so far. United might be targeting domestic glory this season but winning the Europa League does provide a direct entry into next season’s Champions League, which could be an alternate route for teams looking to make it into Europe’s elite club competition.
Manchester United’s first fixture in the Europa League is against Feyenoord on September 15.
Manchester United’s Europa League squad:
Goalkeepers: David de Gea, Sergio Romero, Sam Johnstone
Defenders: Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo, Antonio Valencia, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Matteo Darmian, Axel Tuanzebe
Midfielders: Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Michael Carrick, Daley Blind, Ashley Young, Ander Herrera, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Marouane Fellaini, Morgan Schneiderlin
Forwards: Memphis Depay, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford
