The Scottish Premiership side have been linked with pulling off a stunning move for the World Cup winner.

Manchester United’s Bastian Schweinsteiger

Celtic have emerged as surprise contenders to land Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, according to SkyBet, with the bookmakers including them as 8/1 outsiders to bag the World Cup winner’s signature.

The Manchester Evening News reports that the 32-year-old has been told that he can leave Old Trafford this summer after being instructed to train with the reserves by new manager Jose Mourinho.

And while SkyBet suggests that a return to the Bundesliga is the most likely outcome if he does end up leaving United – old club Bayern Munich are 13/8 favourites to re-sign the midfielder while Schalke are at 4/1 – Brendan Rodgers’ men are certainly not being ruled out of the running with a switch to the MLS being the only other option that is being deemed more likely at 6/1.

It must also be mentioned that SkyBet believe that only a return to the Allianz Arena is more likely than Schweinsteiger staying put beyond this window.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers

Though SkyBet believe a move could happen, it seems highly unlikely that Rodgers will be able to land the German.

The Manchester Evening News added that Schweinsteiger earns £200,000 every week with United, and even with a significant pay cut, it is incredibly difficult to imagine that Celtic could make the kind of offer that would appeal to him.

Though his quality is undeniable, it seems hugely doubtful that Rodgers would be willing to use what would surely be more than the rest of his wage budget on signing another midfielder, especially as huge question marks remain regarding whether he can stay fit.

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