Manchester United sign World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger

“We tried to convince him to stay with Bayern Munich. But I also understand that a player who has spent 17 years at Bayern Munich still wants to gain a new experience.”

Having won almost everything there is to win domestically in Germany, Schweinsteiger will be looking to add the Premier League title to his medal collection. Whether he will play every game for the Red Devils, remains to be seen, with Van Gaal already well stocked in midfield.

Primarily a deep lying playmaker, with a gift for anticipating the pattern of play, he is likely to be in competition with Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera and Daley Blind for a starting spot, though depending on what system United play next term, he could well operate alongside all three.

Louis van Gaal on Schweinsteiger: "He brings a wealth of experience and is an excellent addition to our squad." pic.twitter.com/BXnFgSsDxN

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 13, 2015

The 30-year-old follows exciting winger Memphis Depay into the club, after he switched earlier in the summer for £31m from PSV Eindhoven, as well as Italy right back Matteo Darmian. The former Torino defender recently arrived at Old Trafford, while Southampton parted with Morgan Schneiderlin for £25m, as United look to make another serious signal of intent to reclaim the Premier League.

Schweinsteiger will join his new teammates on Man Utd’s pre-season tour of the United States, where Van Gaal will begin work on trying to get his squad to gel in time for the new campaign.

Whether he is the type of player that the club needs is questionable, however, there is no doubt that he gives them quality.