Erik ten Hag is delighted with Manchester United’s late swoop for Marcel Sabitzer and feels the midfielder – who he has been a fan of for years – will slot straight in at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils were hit by a major injury blow at the start of the week when Christian Eriksen at the earliest, while Scott McTominay also faces a spell on the sidelines.
United moved quickly to secure a short-term replacement, agreeing a deadline day deal with to take Sabitzer on loan until the end of the season.
Ten Hag is thrilled with the signing and is confident the 28-year-old can provide sufficient cover for the injured Eriksen, with Sabitzer highly motivated to make his mark at Old Trafford.
Speaking after Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg win over Nottingham Forest, he said: ‘We are really happy with that transfer because we needed it after Donny van de Beek dropped out, now Christian Eriksen for a longer time.
‘Also, I think for a shorter time, Scott McTominay is also not available.
‘So that gave us a shortage of midfield players but then to bring a quality player in on deadline day, that’s difficult!
‘Then we got this opportunity. I know the player already a long time from Salzburg and especially from Leipzig, he performed fantastic, so I expect that he will do the same here.
‘I think he has a great attitude, he is in the right age and I’m sure this opportunity will motivate him strongly and he will perform for us.’
United are also believed to have enquired about the availability of Ryan Gravenberch but Bayern wanted to keep the young Dutchman, who worked under Ten Hag at Ajax.
Sabitzer was – somewhat surprisingly – deemed surplus to requirements despite having played three times as many minutes for Bayern this season as Gravenberch, featuring 23 times in all competitions in the first half of the season.
, .
,  and .
