Manchester United news: Bastian Schweinsteiger is 'the powerful one', admits Jose Mourinho

Manager is under pressure to sell £200,000-a-week German but concedes the player will hold sway when it comes to a potential move away from Old Trafford

Schweinsteiger made his first appearance of the season in United's 4-1 win over West Ham on Wednesday (Getty)

Although he would prefer him to leave Manchester United, Jose Mourinho admitted that Bastian Schweinsteiger’s contract would make him ‘the powerful one’ in any negotiations.

The 32-year-old’s cameo in Wednesday night’s League Cup quarter-final may have earned Schweinsteiger an ovation from Old Trafford but the Manchester United manager knows a £200,000-a-week contract means he is still under pressure to move him on in the January transfer window.

“Of course, he can stay,” said Mourinho. “When you have a contract with a club, you are the powerful one. You are the one who decides your future.

“When we tried to make a different future for Bastian (by trying to sell him), he was the powerful one. He decided to stay even in difficult circumstances and he worked for that.

“He deserved the little happiness of Wednesday’s match. Now when January comes around, he is the powerful one and probably more powerful than before because he is now training with the team.

“He understands our dynamic and our philosophy. You could see the other day that he was very proud because of his determination to stay and I like people with determination.”

Whether he leaves or stays at Old Trafford, where his contract runs until June, 2018, Mourinho recognised that his attempt to freeze out Schweinsteiger and force him to join another club in the summer had failed. In November, Schweinsteiger was allowed back into the first-team squad after three months training with the under-23s.

“When he was not training with the first team, he behaved in a professional way,” said Mourinho. “When he started training with us, he was struggling a little bit but he fought hard against that and managed not to get injured. He was continuously working for a month.

“We saw an opportunity for him to play a little bit. Pogba and Fellaini were suspended for the West Ham match and he was ready. Of course, he came on when it was 3-1 and he only played for 10 minutes, but if he were needed earlier, he would have been ready.”