Marcel Sabitzer has insisted he is at the peak of his powers after completing his deadline-day move to Manchester United. The Austrian midfielder comes in as a replacement for the injured Christian Eriksen on a loan deal until the end of the season from Bayern Munich.
United were not planning on making any more additions this month after bringing in Jack Butland and Wout Weghorst but were forced to act after Erik ten Hag revealed on Tuesday that Eriksen could be out for the rest of the season after picking up a serious injury in the FA Cup win over Reading. A number of midfielders were considered, including Isco, Ryan Gravenberch and Youri Tielemans before United officials settled on Sabitzer.
The 28-year-old has found regular minutes hard to come by with competition in Bayern’s midfield extremely competitive with Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka the preferred pairing when fit. The deal, therefore, made sense for all parties as United move to find emergency cover for the impressive Eriksen.
After signing on the dotted line, Sabizter admitted the move was no-brainer and is confident he can make a significant contribution to the club as they look to seal a place in the Champions League spots.
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The midfielder may never have got his move to Old Trafford had Eriksen not suffered a serious ankle injury on the weekend. Ten Hag confirmed that the 30-year-old faces between three and four months out on the sideline after a badly-timed tackle from Andy Carroll caused the injury.
And United’s boss did not pull any punches in his assessment of the challenge after discovering the extent of his playmaker’s injury. “Football has to set limits, restrictions, that protect the players,” said Ten Hag. “What football wants is the best players available on the pitch. This is a tackle – and the two tackles after it – that don’t belong on a pitch, because there is a high risk of injuring your colleague.
“It’s worse and I’m left wondering about that. I’ve made my view about it already. I think it was quite clear what my thoughts were.”
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