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 was ruled out until the end of April 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 Bayern Munich to take Sabitzer on loan until the end of the season.
The Austrian completed a move to Old Trafford on deadline day (Pictures: Getty)
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!
Sabitzer brings a wealth of experience to United’s squad (Picture: Getty)
‘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.
Erik ten Hag lists four qualities Anthony Martial brings to Manchester United
Anthony Martial scored for Man Utd in their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg win against Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford.
Anthony Martial made a goalscoring return for United against Forest (Image: 2023 Getty Images)
Erik ten Hag believes Anthony Martial will improve Manchester United’s attack – as long as he can stay fit for more than a couple of weeks.
Martial returned to action vs Nottingham Forest after his latest lay-off this season, scoring the second goal in a 2-0 win at Old Trafford that secured United’s spot in the Carabao Cup final.
The Frenchman now has six goals in 14 appearances for the club this season, but staying available has been his biggest issue and loan signing Wout Weghorst has shone since his arrival in January.
But Ten Hag is confident Martial can add quality to United’s attack if he can maintain his fitness for the rest of the season.
“We have to wait and to see if that’s going to happen, I’m sure a striker like he is will improve our team,” said Ten Hag.
“You always need different qualities in a squad to be technical in games and between games, see what you need, what the games need, but Anthony Martial can create something with his movements, his dealing with the ball, his smartness and his finishing.
“I don’t know if he has been all the time down, but he’s not always available, we hope he will be available for a couple of games, a couple of weeks and months and if that’s the case he can be much more successful. Unfortunately the first half of the season we didn’t have too many choices in the frontline.
Martial was part of a triple substitution Ten Hag made on the hour mark against Forest with the game still goalless, also introducing Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho at the same time.
“That is what you need in a good squad if you want to be successful. We already score many goals from subs this season, today was really obvious, that was not always available,” he said.
Source: metro.co.uk; manchestereveningnews.co.uk
