Who is Marcel Sabitzer? All you need to know about Manchester United’s potential midfield signing

Manchester United are closing in on the loan signing of Marcel Sabitzer from Bayern Munich on deadline day.

The Reds were left in a difficult situation after Christian Eriksen’s ankle injury ruled him out of action for around three months. United began to look around Europe for potential loan deals to strengthen their depleted midfield.

It now looks ever-so-likely that the addition will be Sabitzer from Bayern, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that the Austrian midfielder has told United that he is more than happy to join Erik ten Hag’s project at Old Trafford.

But who is Marcel Sabitzer? UtdDistrict provide all the details on the 28-year-old below.

What position does Marcel Sabitzer play?

The Austrian is a flexible player who can operate in many different roles. He has played a lot on the wings before but has adapted to a central midfield role in recent years.

Sabitzer is comfortable when playing as the deepest midfielder, as well as a number eight. He can also operate in the creative attacking role. This is massively useful to Ten Hag, who likes his players to be able to play in different positions and roles.

What are Marcel Sabitzer’s stats like?

Sabitzer has scored just two goals and registered two assists since joining Bayern Munich at the start of last season. He was more prolific in his latter years at RB Leipzig, where he registered 43 goal contributions in his last two campaigns with the club.

When looking at his FBRef dashboard for the last year, Sabitzer is in the 96th percentile for progressive passes received per 90 (4.29) as well as the 92nd percentile for tackles attempted per 90 (3.06), which are two useful attributes for a deeper midfielder.

His full statistics dashboard can be viewed here.

Why is Marcel Sabitzer interested in joining Manchester United?

The Austrian midfielder joined Bayern Munich at the start of last season but is keen to be a part of Erik ten Hag’s rebuild of Manchester United, according to the reliable Fabrizio Romano. Whilst CaughtOffside added the player is excited about the prospect of playing a first-team role.

Sabitzer has started just 15 Bundesliga fixtures since he joined the German champions.

What international experience does Marcel Sabitzer have?

The midfielder is an experienced international player, having played 68 times for Austria. He has 12 goals and 11 assists for his country and has participated in two major tournaments since his debut in 2012.

What has Erik ten Hag said about potential transfer business amid Marcel Sabitzer move?

The United boss has been discreet with his dealings of this transfer, as he knows the difficulties of completing late moves in January. Despite reports that United met with the player’s agents on Monday, Ten Hag said the following on Tuesday:

“Something on deadline day is difficult, you can’t make policy on bad injuries. We have players in the midfield department, good players, players who can fill the gap.”