The deal for the Austria international also went through quickly due to ‘an existing strong relationship between the clubs’. Murtough is said to have been working on building up United’s standing with clubs all over Europe ever since taking over as football director nearly two years ago.
And Ten Hag is delighted that United were able to bring in a player of Sabitzer’s calibre just when they needed it most. “We’re really happy with that transfer because we need it after Donny dropped out [for the season], now Christian Eriksen for a longer time, and for a short time Scott McTominay is not available,” he said.
“To bring a quality player in on deadline day, that is difficult, we got this opportunity, I know the player for a long time from Salzburg, and especially Leipzig. He performed fantastic. I expect the same here. He has a great attitude, he’s the right age, I’m sure this opportunity will motivate him and he will perform for us.”